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JAMES W. SHARRARD

Past Years in Pickering

SKETCHTS OF THE HISTORY
OF THE COMMUNITY

WILLIAM R. WOOD

Presbyterian Minister. Claremont, Ont.

Toronto

WILLIAM BRIGGS

1911

CO
CD

UCrrCNiC V£R3!ON ELEaRONIC VERSION

AVAILABLE AVAILABLE

iO.

CrTAOoO^ _ Ol^OCO

tift mrmnrg

of two men of God
and

JRrti. AUxanbrr Hitnnth^

by whose self-sacrificing labors during
many years much W£S done for the pro-
motion of righteousness and the establish-
ment of the Kingdom of God in this
community, and the memory of whose
ministry is still gratefully cherished in
many hearts, this book is respectfully
dedicated.

PREFACE

Ontario, that once was "Canada West," is becoming
in more senses than one "Old Ontario." Not a few of
its settlements have passed and many more are nearing
a hundred years of life. The life of the past century
in every Ontario community is worth recording, and if
it is to be adequately written it must be done before the
participants in its experiences have all passed away.

This book is an attempt to do that task for the
Township of Pickering. It does not profess to be a for-
mal history. It is a series of sketches written with
little endeavor after literary distinction, aiming to pre-
sent in a simple way some true conception of the more
important phases of tlie township's life.

No apology is made for the task being undertaken
by one not born within the bounds of the township.
Had some one of Pickering's sons undertaken it — and
she has many who could have done the work well — I
should have rejoiced, and gladly taken what place I
might among his assistants. But none volunteered and
the hour of the century's close was about to strike, —
and I have made what attempt I could.

It is to be recognized that my comparatively short
residence in the township necessarily precludes my
possessing that complete acquaintance with community
experiences and trends of local life which are desirable

PREFACE

for such a work. Some things of importance will be
omitted. Some trifling things will appear to have
undue prominence. This is to be regretted, but will
be seen to have been absolutely unavoidable in the
nature of the situation.

The book is not all mine. Many kind hearts and
keen brains and willing pens have assisted me. Let
this paragraph convey to every one who sent me post
card or brief note, to every one who told me single in-
cident or particular fact, as well as to those who drove
many miles to oblige me, quizzed many old friends and
relatives and wrote dozens of pages of data for my
information, my sincere appreciation and gratitude.
If any success attends the issue of the book, it is largely
due to them.

The sketches are published in the hope that many
of the people of Pickering, still living on its fair fields
or following their vocation in other provinces or dis-
tant lands, will find it interesting and useful in
recalling the days of their fathers, and that in many
another township, before it is too late, the life of the
pioneers may be studied by abler minds and recorded
by readier pens than mine.

William R. Wood.
The Manse^

Claremont, June 1st, 1911.

CONTENTS

OnAPTKR Page

I. The Dawn of History 11

II. The Genesis of the Township - - - - 15

III. Upper Canada in the Thirties - - - - 21

IV. Pickering and the Mackenzie Rebellion - - 27
V. Beginnings of Presbyterianism - - - - 33

VI. Presbyterianism in the Second Period - - 45

VII. The Auld Kirk 62

VIII. Three Dunbarton Worthies - - - - 57

IX. Ten Great Years — Life in Upper Canada in the

"Fifties" 63

X. Rev. Alexander Kennedy ----- 71

XI. Later Presbyterianism - - - _ . 84

XII. The Baptist Church 88

XIII. Pickering Methoaism ----- 107

XIV. Brougham and the Christian Church - - 117
XV. Pickering Village 127

XVI. Pickering Institutions 134

XVII, Claremont - . - - ... 142

CONTENTS

Chaptkr

Paob

XVIII. White and Green Villages - - - - 161

XIX. The Road, the River and the Bay - - - 160

XX. The Schools of the Township - - - - 167

XXI. Agriculture and Stock Raising - - - - 181

XXII. Progress in Temperance - - ' - - - 197

XXIII. Pickering at Play ------ 201

XXIV. Rosebank 211

XXV. I'ickering People - . - - - - 214

ILLUSTRATIONS

Paok
James W. Sharrard ..... Frontispiece

Rev. Robert Thornton, D.D. 34

Erskine Church 46

The Old Church, Dunbarton 49

Alexander Kennedy 7I

Brereton Bunting IQg

Friends' Meeting House - . - - . . 135

Macnab's Store 242

John M. Macnab I45

Frederick Green 152

T. P. White 154

Rouge ToUgate Ig2

Ebenezer Birrell jgg

The Matchless McQueen, in his twenty-third year - 187

James I. Davidson -189

John Miller - . . jg^

Hector Beaton _ 219

William Dunbar 235

Henry Major 264

John Michell -.. 269

Joseph Monkhouse - . - . . . . . 273

Mrs. Sylvanus Sharrard 293

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

CHAPTER I.

THE DAWN OF HISTORY.

The recorded history of Pickering does not extend
farther back than the year 1669. For some time before
that year M. Fenelon and M. Trouve, of the Sulpician
Order, had been engaged in missionary labors in the
Indian village of Kente (the original of the name
Quinte, in what is now Prince Edward County) and
had established a second outpost at Ganeraske (where
Port Hope now stands). In 1669 M. Fenelon pro-
ceeded still farther westward to a third Indian village
named Gandatsetiagon overlooking the waters of what
is now called Frenchman's Bay or 'Pickering Harbor.
Here he remained through the long and severe winter
of 1669-1670, and through his labors and those of
others succeeding him considerable progress was made
in bringing the Indians of the vicinity under the power
of Christianity. Seventeen years later, when the Mar-
quis de Denonville was returning from a campaign
south of the lake, he was entertained with lavish hospi-
tality by the Christian Indians at this place.

The Indians of Gandatsetiagon were of the tribe of
the Senecas, one of the famous Five Nations or Iro-

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

quois. Their ancestral territory was south of Lake
Ontario within the great forest that stretched from
the Niagara to the Hudson; but a considerable portion
of the tribe seem to have made permanent homes for
themselves on the northern shores of the Lake, attracted
doubtless by the game and fish which were there easily
obtainable in rich abundance. The situation of the
village of Gandatsetiagon is thus described ])y a facile
and artistic pen in "Picturesque Canada."

"At the dawn of our provincial history, two hundred
and odd years ago, when the first light was breaking
on Lake Ontario, you might have discovered an Indian
village la few miles to the west of Whitby Harbor, The
village looked out upon a wide and land-locked mere
which every summer was fringed anew with floating
milfoil and embroidered with pond-lilies. This peaceful
bayou was so little moved by the great lake that the
stormiest wrath outside awoke but a soft response
within. It was a welcome retreat in wild weather for
lake-birds when blown about the skies. Sedges and
sweet-flag and tall reed-mace so concealed the entrance
that it was known only to the Seneca Indians of the
village within. Out of the quiet bayou Pickering Har-
bor has in our day been formed and the entrance has
been dredged and widened and lighted. But two cen-
turies ago these blue waters had not yet been vexed by
merchantmen and a sufficient beacon was found in
the natural features of the land."

Beautiful then, the situation still is one of Pick-
ering's most charming landscapes. Its present
appearance is thus described by a recent paragrapher :

"Crossing the Grand Trunk track southward on the

THE DAWN OF HISTORY

Liverpool sideroad you reach the crest of the hill in a
few moments, and if at all you have eyes to see you
are compelled to pause and look. Behind you on the
right, half hidden in its leafy maples, lies the village of
Dunbarton, with its little arch-towered brick church
on the hill. On the left, a little farther removed, is
Pickering Village, anciently knovm as Duffin's Creek,
with the world-famous College on its fine site adjacent,
while beyond the view extends thirty miles north-east-
wards to the Uxbridge hills. Southward on the right
lies the triangular expanse of the Bay, glassy-smooth,
reflecting the clouds above and the varied green of the
opposite shore. On the left, rich green fields succeed
one another to where beyond the Point the lake shore
bends away to the eastward. In front Lake Ontario
gleams shoreless to the horizon. Driving southward
over the smooth firm gravel with a one-plank sidewalk
threading its way through the grass by the roadside, we
soon come to the neat cottages of Fairport nestling amid
luxuriant hedges and dainty patches of lawn. Passing
along we come into closer view of the great ice, grain,
and coal warehouses by the wharf and the snowy light-
house that sentinels the entrance to the bay. Launches,
yachts and row-boats brighten the waters as they flit
about. An ideal mile and yet so real as to lie hardly
beyond the twentieth mile-post eastward from the
Queen City of the Lakes."

When Gandatsetiagon stood on the shore of French-
man's Bay, the position of the Queen City was occupied
by another Indian village bearing the name Teyoyagon.
This place was described by La Salle as early as 1673,
as the chief trading station of the Ottawas with the

PAST YEARS IN PICKEEING

northern Iroquois. A forest trail connected it with
Lake Simcoe, which at that time was called Toronto.
Gradually the name came to be applied not only to the
Lake but to the portage that led to the Lake and ulti-
mately it was applied to the Southern end of the
portage and superseded Teyoyagon, the name of the
village which stood there.

Between Gandatsetiagon and Teyoyagon were two
other points noticed in the records of the early French
missionaries: Les Grandes Ecores, which later Eng-
lish settlers Tendered by the Highlands land from
which they named the stream flowing through them,
the Highland Creek, and Eiviere Rouge, which although
Governor Simcoe endeavored to superimpose the Eng-
lish name River Nen still retains its older French
appellation. A few miles east of the village of the
Senecas another stream emptied into the lake. The
French explorers named it Riviere au Saumon, but for
over a century it has borne the name of Duffin's Creek.

CHAPTER II.

THE GENESIS OF THE TOWNSHIP.

In 1788, the twenty-eighth year of the reign of George
III., Lord Dorchester, Captain-General and Governor-
in-Chief of the Province of Quebec (which at that time
had no limit westward) divided the province into a
number of districts. The district to which the name
Nassau was applied included what is now the County
of Ontario and westward as far as the meridian of Long
Point on the north shore of Lake Erie. In 1791 the
Constitutional Act was passed which divided the Prov-
ince of Quebec into the two Provinces of Upper Canada
and Lower Cianada. In 1792, the districts in Upper
Canada were re-named by the Provincial parliament at
its first meeting at Newark (Niagara), the district of
Nassau becoming the "Home District." In the same year
Governor Simcoe by proclamation divided Upper Canada
into nineteen counties for representation purposes.
The fourteenth county, named York, included the pres-
ent County of Ontario and also the present counties of
York and Peel. In 1851 an Act was passed to come
into operation at the opening of 1852, dividing the old
County of York into the three present counties. The
proclamation creating "the Village of Whitby " county-
town of the newly created county and appointing the
first meeting of council was issued by Lord Elgin on
March 11th, 1852.

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

On February 22nd, 1791, the following instructions
were issued from the Surveyor-General's office in Que-
bec to Augustus Jones, Esquire.

"Sir, — You are hereby directed to engage ten chain-
bearers and axe-men on the most reasonable terms they
can be had, not exceeding one shilling and six-pence
currency per day each man, with an allowance of one
shilling and three-pence per day to yourself and party
for provisions or a ration from the King's store in lieu
thereof, at your and their option, and to survey and
mark the front line of a row of townships from the
eastern boundary of the district of Toronto and to
carry the side of each township back one mile, well
marked, which townships are to be designated on the
charts the first adjoining the said eastern boundary by
the name of Murray, and the rest as they follow in pro-
ceeding westerly in the order here mentioned, Cramahe,
Haldimand, Hope, Bristol, Norwich, Edinburgh, Glas-
gow, Dublin."

In the fall of that year Surveyor Jones rendered his
account, having among others this item:

"To actual service surveying the course of the Lake
and running the front line of a row of townships in that
space from the mouth of the River Trent (head of the
Bay of Quinte) to Toronto from Ist July to 17th Sep-
tember, both days inclusive, being 79 days, £34.11s.3d."

The work of the summer of 1791, it may be presumed,
constituted the first steps taken toward giving Pickeriug
existence as a municipality.

It will be noticed that the names of the townships
do not correspond with those now applied. There is no
record of how the changes were effected, but in the

THE GENESIS OF THE TOWNSHIP

earliest maps we find in place of the last five the fol-
lowing names: Clarke, DarlingtoD, Whitby, Pickering
and Scarboro. If one may Judge from the names sub-
stituted doubtless some loyal Yorkshireman (presum-
ably Augustus Jones, Esquire) had a hand in the de-
cision. But had the Surveyor-General had his will we
would to-day have been citizens of the township of
Glasgow.

The survey of the township would seem to have been
completed and some few settlers located in the town-
ship before 1796. An interesting document bearing
date November 11th, of that year, of which an early
copy is still extant, reads in part as follows : —

"George the third, by the grace of God, of Great
Britain, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the
Faith and so forth, know ye that we, of our special grace,
certain knowledge and mere motion have given and
granted and by these presents do give and grant to Mrs.
Catherine McGill lots No. 16 and 17 in the first con-
cession containing by admeasurement 1200 acres with
the usual allowance for roads, the broken fronts, the
south half number 18, in the first concession, and 17, in
the second concession."

The earliest municipal record extant is "A record
of a meeting for choosing the town officers and other
regulators for the towns of Pickering and Whitby held
at the house of Samuel Munger in Pickering, March,
7th day, 1803." At this meeting a Town Clerk and
Collector, two Assessors, two Town Wardens, two Fence
Viewers and five Pathmasters were chosen.

For Pickering Township alone there is a record of
a similar meeting for the year 1811, held on the first
2 17

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

Monday of March. The officers chosen at this meeting
were : —

Town Clerk, Thomas Hubbard.

Assessors, David Crawford^ John Haight.

CollectoTj Abraham Townsend.

Pathmasters, Noadiah Woodruff, Thomas Mat-
thews, John Lawrence, Abraham Townsend.

Pon^ndJceepers, Joseph Wixon, Timothy Rogers.

Town Wardens, John Richard, James Powell.
A census of the township taken two years earlier
than this gives the population of the township as 180,
there being 40 men, 35 women, 51 boys under 16
years of age and 54 girls under 16 years of age. Scar-
boro in 1809 had 40 less of a total population than Pick-
ering and Whitby 13 more.

The first considerable influx of settlers into the town-
ship dates from the early part of the second decade of
the century. At this time the south-eastern corner of
the township was largely taken up by a Quaker com-
munity from the Eastern States. About the middle of
the first decade Timothy Rogers, a native of Vermont,
brought a company of Friends to the vicinity of New-
market. Having returned again across the border he
brought another company over about 1810. They were
located chiefly south and east of Duffin's Creek. Eor
his services Mr. Rogers received from the Government
a grant of several ihundred acres of land near the village.
From one of these he gave to the Society of Friends
the land on which the old Friends' Meeting House in
Pickering still stands. Among his varied activities was
the establishment of a mill (in all probability the ear-
liest at Duffin's Creek). His family numbered "even

THE GENESIS OF THE TOWNSHIP

twenty". Two of his grandsons, Messrs. Clarkson and
Rogers, are still among the residents of Pickering Vil-
lage.

A similar town meeting was held in 1813, but for
1813 the following entry in the old minute book shows
that the settlers of Pickering had to take their share
of the confusion of a war time and that in all proba-
bility many of them were called to active service in
defence of the frontier.

"Our townd ofosisors were Putin by the Qarter Secons
for the year A.D. 1813, by Eeason of the wor that was
Decleard against us by the States in the year 1812.

"By the Same reason our towndmetin war omited in
the year A.D. 1814, and our Town officors war Put in in
the same manner."

In 1815 and succeeding years the usual town meetings
were continued.

Beside the appointment of town officers and other
regulators the town meeting often passed such by-laws
for the government of the township as circumstances
demanded. Their legislation was always to the point
and never burdened with superfluous matter, as may be
Judged by the following examples: —

1811. By-law (the first passed in the municipality),
"voted that fences be four feet and a half high and not
more than five inches between rails."

1816. "By-law. Hogs is not run as free commoners
nor horses."

1816. "By-law. Hogs is not to run as free commoners
is to Be four feet and a half high and not more then
Six Inches Between the Eails from the ground to the
height of two feet."

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

''Voted that hogs is not to Run on the Commons with-
out a Yoak that is six inches above the Neck and four
Below."

1831. "By-law. Horned cattle^, that is none (known)
to be Breachy, is not free commoners."

1824 "By-law. That hogs are to run at large till they
do damage and then the owner of the hogs is to pay the
Same and yoke them with a croch yoke 6 Inches above
the Neck and four inches below the Neck and Let them
Run."

1828 "By-law. Voted that any Person who shall know-
ingly allow Canada Thistles to go to seed on his Farm
shall be liable to a fine of Two Pounds Ten Shillings to
be laid out on the Highways in the District wherein the
Said Thistles are neglected which Said Fine to be paid
to the Overseers for the time being."

CHAPTEE III.
UPPER CANADA IN THE THIRTIES.

The year 1830 marks the beginning of a new epoch
in the history of Upper Canada. The decade 1830-
1840 saw more rapid and extensive development than
any preceding period. The settlers already located were
growing in prosperity, and the tide of immigration,
especially from Scotland and the north of Ireland,
flowed more strongly than ever. It is estimated that
34,000 settlers entered the province in 1831, and during
the four years 1829-1832, fully 160,000 were added to
the population. Pickering township had its growing
time in this period in common with the rest of the
province.

Immigrants at this time had to face a long, tedious,
and often dangerous sea voyage and a toilsome jour-
ney from the ports of the lower province or the Atlantic
States. Mr. McConnochie, one of the pioneers of the
south of Pickering, sailed in September, 1830, from
Greenock, in the good ship Osprey. The voyage to New
York occupied five weeks and three days, after which
he came by way of Albany and Buffalo to Little York,
from which he made his way afoot to Pickering. In
April of the following year his family left Scotland to
join him. A voyage of seven weeks brought them to
Quebec, from which they proceeded by steamboat to
Montreal. Then they advanced by small boats to La-

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

chine and on a Durham boat to Prescott, from which
another steamboat carried them to York.

Slow and wearisome the journey always was, but in
1832 a new and terrible danger was added to its hard-
ships. In June of that year a ship arrived in the St.
Lawrence from Dublin with Asiatic cholera on board.
The vessel was detained at quarantine, but the day
following the plague was already in Montreal. Through
the whole summer it raged, claiming thousands of
victims. One of those who died was the Rev. William
Robertson, one of the three first missionaries sent out
by the Secession Church of Scotland. The disease
only abated when the frosts of autumn set in. Two
years later, in 1834, it awoke to new life and again
ravaged through a summer.

Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence were at this time
the great highway of communication with the East,
but as the years passed the "Kingston Road" between
York and Kingston was increasingly used. In 1830,
the following advertisement appeared in the Christian
Guardian, which had been established the previous
year in Toronto:

New Line of Stages and Steamboats From York

TO Prescott.

The Public are respectfully informed that a line of
stages will run regularly between York and the Carrying
Place twice a week the remainder of the season, leaving
York every Monday and Thursday morning at 4
o'clock; passing through the beautiful townships of
Pickering, Whitby, Darljington and Clark, and the
pleasant villages of Port Hope, Cobourg and Colborne,

UPPER CANADA IN THE THIETIBS

and arriving at the Carrying Place the same evening.
Will leave the Carrying Place every Tuesday and Fri-
day morning at 4 o'clock and arrive at York the same
evening.

The above arrangements are made in connection
with the steamboat Sir James Kempt, so that passen-
gers travelling this route will find a speedy and pleasant
conveyance between York and Prescott, the road being
very much repaired and the line fitted up with good
horses, new carriages and careful drivers. Fare through
from York to Prescott £3. 10s., the same as the lake
boats. Intermediate distances fare as usual. All bag-
gage at the risk of the owner. N. B. — Extras fur-
nished at York, Cobourg or the Carrying Place on
reasonable terms.

William Weller.

York, June 9th, 1830.

In this advertisement the use of the words "new"
applied to the stage line and "as usual" applied to the
fares indicates that prior to this date and probably for
a considerable time there had been some attempt at
continuous stage connection between York and the
Lower Province. But at this time and for many years
afterwards the roads were so bad that the progress of
the stages was often seriously interrupted, A writer
in 1825 describes the road between York and King-
ston as among the worst that human foot ever trod.
And when we read of passengers being obliged to alight
and help to extricate the coach from the mud by prying
the wheels up with rails from adjoining fences, and
often to trudge up the steeper hills ankle deep in mud,

PAST YEARS IN PICKERmO

we are forced to conclude that his description is in all
probability a very accurate one. The journey from
York to Montreal occupied regularly four days and a
half, but was very often longer. Yet it is related that
Weller, the stage proprietor, on one occasion sent Lord
Durham through from York to Montreal in thirty-six
hours. As early as 1816 a vessel propelled by steam
was running on Lake Ontario and the time was fast
approaching when stages, as means of communication
between the provinces, were to be of the past. In 1836,
Canada's first railway was in operation, and in twenty
years from that date the Grand Trunk Railway was
completed to Toronto.

The Thirties in Pickering.

It was during the early thirties that Pickering re-
ceived its first large influx of settlers. To this period
belongs the Scotch settlement in the First and Second
Concessions, pioneered by William Dunbar and in-
cluding the Annans, Gilchrists, Wilkies, Browns and
Lawisons. The English settlement in the Seventh,
Eighth and Ninth Concessions, among whom were the
Vincents, Tracys, Gosticks, Winters, Palmers, and Ben-
nets, came during the same period. Green River within
the same decade was receiving the Osburns, Bices, Fer-
riers. Pouch ers, Mcln tyres, Reynolds, Vardons and Wil-
sons, and other sections of the township were also in
measure adding to their population. It was within
this period that Donald Mackay came to the Kingston
Road, Ebenezer Birrell to the Seventh Concession, John
Bell to Ath'a, John Miller to Brougham, Hector Beaton
to Whitevale, and James McCreight to Cherrywood.

UPPER CANADA IN THE THIRTIES

Settlers in Pickering at this period though not the
earliest yet had to face mast of the privations and hard-
ships of pioneer life. Excepting the Kingston Road
there were scarcely any roads worthy of the name. What
did duty as roads were often simply paths blazed through
the woods, or at best chopped out only wide enough for
a wagon to pass. Horses were few and the farmer who
was advanced far enough to own a team was often re-
quested to loan or hire them to his neighbors to bring
loads from a distance. Many a bag of seed-potatoes
and grain and provisions was borne in those days on
the settlers' backs through the forest paths from points
as far distant as Whitby and Toronto. Soon little
"clearances" surrounded the little log dwellings of the
settlers, and season by season they widened till at length
clearance joined clearance, then there came a time
when the clearance wais larger than the remaining
"bush," and the years hastened the time when only
patches of forest are left to dot at wide intervals the
landscape of the township.

The .settlers' life was a toilsome one. The cutting
down of the trees, the chopping of the "fallow," the
logging and burning and the early efforts at cultivation
of the soil, all meant hard physical labor, and labor of
a kind for which in many cases they had no training.
Yet their life was not without its homely and whole-
some joys nor without those elements which tended to
develop strong and true character in those who shared
it. The isoMion which was the common lot developed
a resourcefulness and self-reliance which is often lack-
ing in our more highly organized and specialized life.
The settler had to be his own carpenter, blacksmith

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

and architect, and often had to supply himself
with the products of a dozen other trades or occupations.
In health and in sickness his own hands had to wait
upon his necessities and perhaps never was the old
proverb more frequently and literally exemplified that
"Necessity is the mother of Invention."

From 1811 till 1835 the ''town meeting" for the
township was held sometimes at one place, sometimes
at another. In the years 1822-5 it was held at Mr.
John Major's, in 1826-7 at Mr. John Blair's, in 1828-33
and 1834 at Mr. Eli Leaven's, in 1833 at Mr. Amos
Griswold's. In 1835 the meeting was held at Mr. An-
drew Thompson's tavern on the Fifth Concession, a
mile and a quarter south of Brougham. This tavern
continued to be the meeting-place for about twenty
years, with two or three exceptions, till the building
of the Township Hall in the village of Brougham.

In 1836 the townmeeting appointed John Haight,
Isaac Campbell and Joseph Wixon Commissioners. Their
duties seem to have been in some respects like those
of the Councillors of a later time. They held several
meetings during the year, passed regulations for pound-
keepers, divided the Township into road-divisions and
acted as justices in dealing with cases of obstructing
highways and non-performance of statute labor. In
the year 1839 and afterwards the name Town Warden
superseded that of Commissioner. They continued to
be appointed by the annual meeting till the establish-
ment of the municipal council in 1850.

CHAPTER IV.

PICKERING AND THE MACKENZIE
REBELLION.

During the rebellion of 1837, the Township of Pick-
ering being near the capital, the settlers took a deep and
practical interest, and some of them an active part, in the
stirring events of the time. Peter Matthews, who witli
Lount suffered capital punishment in 1838, was a Pick-
ering man, and before the outbreak of the rebellion took
a prominent part in the public affairs of the township.
The Scotch settlement in the first and second conces-
sions was generally known to be in sympathy with the
party of reform. When, toward the close of 1837, events
were hastening to a crisis, parties were sent from To-
ronto to apprehend any who might be suspected of in-
tention to support Mackenzie. Mr. George White, Mr.
Dunbar, Sr., and his two sons, Alexander and William,
were among those arrested and marched up the King-
ston Road to the city.

There were some in Pickering, however, who remained
loyal to the Government, and even some who took the
aggressive against those of their neighbors who were
suspected of intention to join the rebels. It is related
that a party headed by Mr. James Greig visited the
home of Mr. Peat, in the second Concession, who was
supposed to be harboring one of the more active parti-

PAST YEARS IN" PICKERING

sans. Proceeding toward the stairway the party were
faced by Mr. Peat's daughter, who, with an old fash-
ioned hardwood sapling poker in her hand, threatened
to break the head of the foremost. In the meantime,
a younger daughter, (Helen, afterwards Mrs. William
Taylor), was sent out to warn the neighbor, who was
at work in the woods at some little distance. As she
went, one of the party with more zeal than honor sent
a bullet after her. It buried itself harmlessly in a tree,
however, and the neighbor, for that occasion, at least,
escaped.

Some of those who knew themselves to be in danger
of arrest, in order to facilitate escape, if necessary, went
down to Frenchman's Bay and cut out of the ice a
schooner, which was lying there, intending if the danger
should become very imminent to use her in crossing the
lake to the American side.

Among other places visited by the Government parties
was the old Annan homestead on the Kingston Road.
Here no one was arrested, but two old shot guns were
confiscated as fire-arms.

In contrast with this may be mentioned the visit of
a party of Matthews' men to the home of Mr. Lamor-
eaux, grandfather of Mr. Thomas W. Lamoreaux and
Mr. James Lamoreaux, of Dunbarton. He was a
staunch loyalist, with the hero-blood of the old French
Huguenots in his veins, and was deprived of his rifle
only after a struggle in which he was overcome by num-
bers. No sooner had the party gone than he ran down
across a field to his son's house and gave him warning
in time to escape to the woods with liis rifle, so that it
did not fall into the enemy's hands.

THE MAiCKENZIE REBELLION

Incidentally it may be mentioned that the adjoining
Township of Scarboro remained practically as a whole
loyal to the Government, and lent no aid to the "rebels"
during the outbreak. An old resident of that township
speaks of having seen Matthews and his followers
passing up the old Kingston Road one night about nine
o'clock. At the time of the crisis when -Toronto was
threatened, the loyalty of the Scarboro men was prac-
tically manifested. They marched out 400 strong and
were enrolled and commanded by Colonel Allan Mc-
Lean, formerly a Captain in the British Army.

After the defeat at Montgomery's Tavern on the 7th
of December, Matthews, with a party that had been
operating eastwards toward the Don, fled across the
river and had dinner at one of the taverns on the King-
ston Road. He was advised to keep his compaijy to-
gether and make for the Rouge River, where they might
be able to seize a vessel and cross to the United States.
Ultimately the plan of breaking up the party was
adopted and very soon afterward Matthews was captured.
Those from Pickering who were arrested only on sus-
picion were soon afterwards allowed to return to their
homes.

At the time of the rebellion. Rev. Robert H. Thornton,
one of the most able and earnest of the pioneers of
Presbyterianism in Upper Canada, was laboring as a
missionary of the Secession Church of Scotland, with his
central station midway between Whitby and Oshawa.
Two years earlier he had begun conducting fortnightly
services in Pickering and a small congregation in Colum-
bus was also regularly supplied by him. In the minds
of the party in power in the province he was evidently

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

associated with the followers of Mackenzie, for troops
were stationed in the house next to his residence, and
one evening when returning after dark from a service at
Columbus he was fired at by a soldier on guard. The
bullet fortunately missed its mark, and Mr. Thornton
at once rode back and confronted the commanding offi-
cer, who apologized and reprimanded the soldier.

No one may doubt that there were good men and
true on both sides in the struggle. The following para-
graph from a sermon preached in Scarboro by the Rev.
Dr. George, in the year 1838, shows the position of a
staunch supporter of the Government.

"I beg you to guard against supposing that I wish to
inculcate a blind passive obedience to any Government
armed with power to enforce its villainies . . . Arbi-
trary power cannot be established without tearing up
the British Constitution from its very foundations. I
revere that constitution, because I do from my soul
regard it as the nurse and protector of genuine liberty.
I urge obedience to the Government under which we live
because I believe it to be substantially a government
of law and of justice. I stand up zealously in its defence
because it is my solemn conviction that whatever has
been wrong in its administration may be corrected by
constitutional means."

Speaking of the duty of subjects to defend the con-
stitution and the rules he said : —

"All boasting apart as morally indecorous, I fear-
lessly aver that ere that glorious symbol of liberty that
waves on a thousand towers, from the banks of the
Ganges to those of the St. Lawrence, is torn to the
dust in our Western Capital, by the hands of home-bred

THE MACKENZIE EEBELLION

traitors or foreign sympathizers, there are many hearts
in Upper Canada that will warm to desperate defiance;
and if that day of deep desecration and woe comes that
shall see our Constitution and British connection perish
there are many hearts now warm that will be cold ere
that day's sun shall go down."

An interesting relic of the rebellion is still kept in
Dunbarton, in possession of Miss Janet Brown. It is
a snuff box carved out of wood by one of the prisoners
held at Kingston at the close of the struggle, and was
by him presented to Miss Brown's uncle, the late Mr.
David Lawson. Two stanzas of poetry, hand printed
on its sides, are of interest as showing the tendency to
serious thinking which characterized some of those who
bore the name of rebel in 1837. They are as follows : —

Now in your youthful days

Choose the way of truth.
To God the Saviour go

While in the bloom of youth.

How blest is he vrho ne'er consents

By ill advice to walk,
Nor stands in sinner's ways, nor sits
Where men profanely talk.
July 4th. 1838.

The two following remarkable entries in the records
of the Baptist Church, on the 8th Concession, refer to
the rebellion of 1837 and bear every evidence of having
been made on the dates assigned.

"Dec. 8th, 1837.

"A Dark Cloud has for some Days Been suspended
over the City of Toronto, Devoted to Destruction by a

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

misguided faction Led on by the unprincipled McKenzie,
the tool of a few influential Democrats. To-day the
Cloud had Burst and overwhelmed the Assailants with
Confusion and Dismay. Prayer has been heard; the
City is spared and we are call'd upon to Bless God that
tho surrounded by the Disaffected not one individual
connected with this Place of worship Has taken any
Part in their Rebellious proceedings and to Record our
Humble Hope that Peace and tranquillity may be
speedily Restored."

"Feb. 6th, 1838.

"This being the Day fix'd by His Excellency the
Governor as a Day of General Thanksgiving for the
interposition of Divine providence By which the Late
Rebellion has been Quell'd we submit to this tho an
ordinance of man for the Lord's Sake Not because we
Recognize Human Authority in matters of Religion
But Because we think the spirit of the Governor's Re-
quisition in this matter Requires nothing of us but what
we owe and feel bound to render to our Lord Jesus
Christ we therefore met on this Day for Prayer and
Thanksgiving when an address was delivered by T. Gos-
tick from Psalm 124, verses 6-7."

CHAPTER V.

BEGINNINGS OF PRESBYTERIANISM.

If we except the labors of the Sulpicians in the sev-
enteenth century the history of religion in this
district begins with the ministrations of Eev. William
Jenkins of Eichmond Hill. He was born in Forfar,
Scotland, on September 26, 1779, and at twenty years
of age emigrated to the United States. For many years
lie was a missionary among the Oneidas, biit in 1817
he came to Upper Canada and settled in the township
of Markham.

A writer in 1843 says of him: "During the early
part of his ministry in this province it may be said
that his missionary field extended from the Bay of
Quinte to the Grand River and from Ontario to Lake
Simcoe. Where there are now (1843) many congre-
gations belonging to the United Secession and the
Church of Scotland, we must say that he was the apostle
who planted and that others came and watered. We will
find in the list Peterboro, Cobourg, Port Hope, Whitby,
Scarboro, Markham, Toronto, Newmarket, West Gwil-
limbury, congregations in Vaughan and Richmond
Hill, to which he latterly confined himself, and many
others. It is true that all these he did not form into
congregations, but in these places he preached and gave
them the desire and pointed out the duty of getting
ministers for themselves. In fact, he was the Presby-
3 33

PAST YEARS IN PICKEEING

terian pioneer of this region of Canada, and it may be
doubted if there is one Presbyterian congregation within
fifty miles within whose bounds this venerable man was
not the first of that denomination to preach the Gospel.''

While there is no specific record of his ministrations
actually within the bounds of Pickering To^\Tiship, it is
well known that he preached in the townships on either
side of it. St. Andrew's Congregation in Scarboro was
organized by him in 1818, and it can scarcely be doubted
that many of the early Presbyterian settlers in this
township listened to the gospel from his lips. In any
case, as the pioneer Presbyterian missionary of the
whole region he deserves to be held in grateful remem-
brance. Upon him there lay the burden of lonely and
toilsome journeys, of frequent privations and hardships,
and all the discouragement and disappointment which
ever accompanies the elementary stages ot great under-
takings. A man he was, as every true religious pioneer
must be, of earnest faith, of strong sense of duty and
of heroic perseverance in the carrying out of that to
which duty called him.

The inauguration of organized Presbyterianism in
Pickering is most directly associated with the honored
name of Robert Thornton, a name which is worthy of a
high place in the roll of those, who, in the earlier half of
last century, gave their lives in toil and privation to
the making of Canada.

Mr. Thornton was born in April, 1806, in the parish
of West Calder, near Edinburgh. His father, Peter
Thornton, was an elder in the Secession Church of
Cambusnethan, and his home was eminent for its god-
liness. From a child he knew the Holy Scriptures and

REV. ROBERT THORNTON, D.D.

BEGINNINGS OF PEESBYiTEEIANISM

witnessed in the home of his youth the blessed fruits
of Christian faith. When about 14 years of age he
became assistant to his brother, who kept a flourishing
Educational Seminary in Falkirk, while at the same
time he continued his classical studies preparatory to
entering College. After pursuing his studies at Edin-
burgh University, where John Wilson, better known as
"Christopher North," was one of the faculty, and at St.
Andrew's, where Dr. Chalmers was then Professor of
Moral Philosophy, he spent four years in the Divinity
Hall of the Secession Church in Glasgow. Here began
his life-long friendship with Alexander Kennedy, who
was afterwards his neighbor and fellow-presbyter in
Upper Canada.

In 1833 he was ordained and appointed missionary
to Canada. Before setting out for his distant field of
labor he was united in marriage to Margaret, daughter
of Joseph Thompson of Malenny Grove, near Edinburgh,
a lady who in every respect proved a help-mate indeed.
On the 8th of May, 1833, they sailed from Greenock,
and after a seven weeks voyage landed at New York.
On the fourth of July they arrived at Eochester and two
or three days later crossed the lake to Cobourg.

A year earlier the Secession Church had sent out her
first three missionaries to Canada. One, the Eev. Mr.
Eobertson, died from cholera, on reaching Montreal;
a second, Eev. William Proudfoot, settled in London,
Ontario, and afterwards was appointed professor in the
Divinity Hall, established in 1844. In 1833, beside Mr.
Thornton, two others were sent. Eev. Dr. Taylor settled
in Montreal, and Eev. George Murray labored for many
years in Dumfries and Blenheim.

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

Leaving Mrs. Thornton in Cobourg, Mr. Thornton
proceeded westward in search of a suitable place to
locate. His own description of his course is as follows :
"With the exception of a narrow strip, far from con-
tinuous, along the southern frontier, Canada was then
a vast wilderness. . . . The clearings were so few
and far between as scarcely to interrupt the wilderness
monotony. And as for roads, with a few exceptions,
they were yet in the future. The road was made
merely by the cutting and partial clearing of the trees
which had covered its surface. To keep these few
highways, such as they were, was incompatible with the
objects of the missionary and the nature of his work.
We had to wend our way through forest paths and
from clearing to clearing, where the only mode of loco-
motion was on foot. We had then not only no certain
dwelling place but no certain field before us. Avoiding
everything like inroads upon the few localities where
the gospel had obtained a footing we proceeded in quest
of Presbyterian settlers, without the least direct infor-
mation as to where they were to be found or whether
we should be desired. Committing ourselves to God
we just advanced where He broke up our way."

At the earnest solicitation of a number of Presby-
terians in the township of Wliitby, Mr. Thornton set-
tled there, taking up his residence near the locality still
known as "Thornton's Corners." This, however, was
but a centre for a wide field of operations, which ex-
tended far to east and west and north. There was at
that time no Presbyterian minister between Port Hope
and Toronto. The congregation which gathered around
him first worshipped in a building situated on what was

BEGINNINGS OF PRESBYTEEIANISM

called "Moore's Hill," half a mile west of the Union
Cemetery, on the Kingston Eoad. Four years later they
moved into a new brick Church, built on the ground
DOW occupied by the Cemetery. From far and near the
settlers came to this place of worship. The late Dr.
Ormiston spoke of his recollection of walking as a lad
from his home in Darlington to Communion service in
Mr. Thornton's Church.

But Mr. Thornton never confined his labors to the
central congregation, Columbus, Brooklin, Claremont,
Brougham, Pickering and Dunbarton, are all much in-
debted to his ministrations and organizing powers. In
the wider life of the church at large, he also took active
part. On the 25th of December, 1834, eight of the nine
Secession missionaries in Upper Canada met in Toronto
and constituted the first presbytery of that church. It
was known as "The Missionary Presbytery of the Can-
adas in connection with the United Associate Synod
of the Secession Church in Scotland." On this occasion
Mr. Thornton preached from Psalm 20:5. "We will
rejoice in thy salvation and in the name of the Lord
will we set up our banners."

In 1835, Mr. Thornton extended his labors westward
ioto the Township of Pickering. The first entry in the
formal records of Presbyterianism in the township is of
a Session meeting held in "Squire" Leys's School, a
short distance east of Pickering Village, on July 5th,
1835. Mr. Thornton presided as moderator, with "Wil-
liam Dunbar, John Agnew and James Greig, elders;
James Greig being appointed Session Clerk. The ser-
vices in connection with which this organization was
effected practically represented the whole township,

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

some being received into membership from points as far
distant as Dunbarton, Cherrywood and Claremont. On
November 7th, 1835, the congregation chose its first
managers, viz., William Dunbar, Jr., William Wilkie,
Thomas Brand and John Agnew; John Agnew being
Convener and Treasurer.

The first recorded communion was held on the fol-
lowing Sabbath, November 8th, when the following
were admitted to membership : Robert Coutts, Janet
Hyslop, John Greig, Jean Coutts, William Dunbar,
Hellen Peat, Jean Knox, Laura Bratt, David Sinclair,
William McQuig, David Strathern, James Greig, David
Smith, Rachel Park.

Church life did not always flow smoothly even in the
"good old days"; and the year 1837 was one of unrest
in the land. Under date, December 24th, 1837, the
following remarkable entry is found in the Session
Book of the Church : —

"The Session Clerk has this day delivered up
the Session book to the congregation and in the
meantime renounces fellowship therewith.

"James Greig.''

It is tolerably certain that the reform sentiments
which were common in the community and the congre-
gation had aroused the loyal indignation of the worthy
clerk, and led to this choleric action on his part. On the
next page the following explanatory notes are found,
written respectively by Rev. R. H. Thornton and Mr.
William Dunbar:

"Pickering, July, 1838. As Mr. Oreig has not only
by his own showing on the previous page ceased to hold

BEGINNINGS OF PEESBYTERIANISM

fellowship with this congregation but in the judgment
of all concerned has by his unconstitutional and un-
Christianlike conduct forfeited all title to church privi-
leges, the Session agreed that his name be taken from the
communicant roll, and Mr. Dunbar be appointed in
future to discharge the office of Session Clerk. The
Session Records are accordingly at this date committed
to his care. Owing to the singular nature of the case
and the remarkable temper displayed by the late Clerk,
precluding any attempts to reclaim, the Session thought
it best to enter do detail in the Records of the case.

"RoBT. H. Thornton, Mod."

Mr. Dunbar's note is as follows: —

"The Session Book having come into my hands as
above stated and having for some time past also acted
as Treasurer to the managing department of the con-
gregation, I have thought it unnecessary to keep sep-
arate books for those and the minutes of Session. The
minutes of each will therefore be entered promiscuously
as they occur. For the time being the present man-
agers were elected on Saturday, the 11th August, and
are as follows: Thos. Brand, "William Wilkie, Robt.
Smith and John Brander.

"William Dunbar, Trem. and Clerk"

Mr. Dunbar also appends the following historical
note at this point : —

"For these two years past ending on the second
Sunday of October, 1838, Mr. Thornton, minister of the
Presbyterian congregation of Whitby, has been engaged
to the Pickering congregation as their pastor for the
time being at a salary of 25 pounds a year, to preach

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

here every alternate Sabbath and do the other duties
of a pastor to us in the best manner that his other duties
will permit, the present place of meeting being Mr.
Leys's school-house and the time of meeting for Divine
Service being half past two o'clock."

On August 12th, 1838, the first roll of members was
drawn up. It contains the following names :

William Dunbar, Jr. Christina Pearson

William Dunbar, Sr. Ann Brander

Alex. Dunbar William Chisholm

William Campell Mrs. William Chisholm

Mrs William Campbell William Thom

David Gilchrist Mrs. William Thom

Mrs. David Gilchrist James Allison

William Wilkie John Allison

Mrs. William Wilkie Mrs. A. Dunbar

Andrew Gray Robert Aitkin

Mrs. Andrew Gray Mrs. Robert Aitkin

Thomas Brand Murdock McKenzie

Mrs. F. Peatt Mrs. Murdock McKenzie
Mrs. George Brown

In June, 1839, Mr. Thornton having intimated his
inability on account of his health to continue the fort-
nightly services in Pickering, it was arranged by Pres-
bytery that Mr. Thornton and Mr. Jennings of Toronto
should give supply of sermon to the Pickering congrega-
tion every third Sabbath, between them.

Under date September 29, 1839, we find the entry : —

Collection at Mr. Leys's, Is. 31/2^-
Collection at 2nd Con., 2s. Si^d.

BEGINNINGS OF PKESBYTERIANISM

This is the earliest record extant of services within
the bounds of what is now the congregation of Dun-
barton. The 2nd Con. services were held in the school
situated on the corner across the side road westward
from the present Erskine Church on the 2nd Concession.
Presumably for a time services were held both at Mr.
Leys^s school and at the school on the 2nd Con., and
then the former gradually discontinued. One of the
last references to Mr Leys's school in the records of the
congregation is that of Sabbath, 1st November, 1840,
when the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was dispensed
there to about 40 members.

In this year also the Church of Scotland organi-
zation in the township began, when Eev. James Lambie
was called to the pastoral charge of two congregations,
one in Dufhn's Creek and one on the 7th Concession.
A meeting of the Session and Managers of the congre-
gation on the Second Concession was held, which passed
the following resolution :

"Having taken into consideration the state of the
congregation on account of the Rev. James Lambie,
of the Church of Scotland, being about to be called to
this Township, it was agreed that so long as Rev. Rob-
ert Thornton is willing to give us the benefit of his
services every third Sabbath as formerly, it was unani-
mously resolved to abide by him as their pastor, and also
to recommend all the members of the congregation to do
the same." A resolution which, even if not perfect gram-
matically, manifests a spirit of devoted loyalty to the
pastor who had served them faithfully in their day of
small things.

PAST YEARS IN^ PICKERING

From this time, however, it would seem that the
attendance and interest in the services decreased, a
portion of the membership probably uniting with the
Churc'h of Scotland. The collection on one occasion,
in 1842, was only 9^d. The last reference to Mr.
Thornton is on May 23rd, of that year, when a payment
of 8s. 7d. was made to him.

Following this there is a period of five years of which
there is no congregational record. Services were prob-
ably continued more or less irregularly till 1847, when
we find Mr. Thornton by authority of Presbytery "con-
gregating" the members in Pickering, who shortly there-
after issued a call in favor of Mr. A. W. Waddell. Mr.
Waddell accepted the call and was ordained and in-
ducted into the pastoral charge on December 28, 1847.
With this settlement, Mr. Thornton's direct connection
with Pickering closed.

Excessive and continuous labors at length began to
seriously impair Mr. Thornton's health. In 1855 his
congregation and other friends presented him with a
purse of over $600 in order that he and Mrs. Thornton
might re-visit Scotland. Again, in 1858, when he had
completed the 25th year of his ministry, his faithful
services were gratefully recognized. On this occasion the
teachers of the district, recognizing his valuable services
as Educational Superintendent, presented him with an
address and a purse. In 1859 he was honoured with
the degree of Doctor of Divinity by Princeton, and in
1861, the year of the union between the Free and
United Presbyterian bodies, he was elected to the Mod-
erator's chair of the latter body.

BEGINNmGS OF PRESBYTEEIANISM

In February, 1874, Mrs. Thornton, who during all
the years of his ministry had been his sympathetic help-
mate and much-beloved co-laborer, was called away, and
a year later, on February 11th, 1875. in the 69th year of
his age and the 42nd year of his ministry. Dr. Thorn-
ton passed to his rest and rewaj-d.

The following paragraph is from the pen of his life-
long friend, Mr. Kennedy, of Dunbarton : —

"In him the intellectual faculties preponderated over
the emotional, and yet he was possessed of keen and
tender feelings, but in his discourses and conversations,
while thought abounded, feeling was suppressed or kept
in abeyance, as is the case with most of his countrymen.
His preaching was singularly instructive, and hence was
appreciated by the more thoughtful and intelligent. As
might be expected his congregations contained a large
proportion of well instructed Christian men and women.
The youDg of his flock and those far beyond its bounds
received his special attention. Few excelled him as a
Bible class teacher. In former years when ministers
were few and books comparatively scarce, he got to-
gether bands of young men far from his home and aided
them in studying the Scriptures and in improving their
minds by the acquisition of general knowledge. He
would travel far to lecture to them periodically, to
advise them in regard to their reading and to aid them
in originating a library in the locality. There are
heads of families residing in the neighborhood of the
writer (the village of Dunbarton), who gratefully
acknowledge that the generous efforts of Dr. Thornton

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

nearly forty years ago first stimulated them to seek
mental and spiritual improvement."

Dr. Thornton's son, Robert H. Thornton, D.D., and
his grandson, a third Robert Thornton, ar« well-known
ministers of the Presbyterian Church of England, the
former being this year (1911) moderator of the Synod
of that body. •

CHAPTER VL
PRESBYTERIANISM IN THE SECOND PERIOD.

What may be called the first period in the history
of Pickering Presbyterianism ends with the close of
Dr. Thornton's connection with the congregation. The
second period begins with the induction of the first set-
tled minister of the charge.

On December 15th, 1847, a call from the congrega-
tion of Pickering in favor of Mr. A. W. Waddell was
sustained by Presbytery. It was signed by thirty-nine
members and twenty-three adherents and promised a
stipend of £70. Mr. Waddell having accepted the call,
Presbytery met again on December 28th, when he was
ordained and inducted. There were present Rev. R. H.
Thornton, Moderator; Messrs. Cassie, Lawrence and
Jennings, ministers, and Mr. William Dunbar, elder.
Mr. Waddell's charge consisted of what were known as
the Front and Back stations. The Front Station was
that later named Erskine, and worshipping on the
Second Concession. The Back Station was that which
worshipped on the Ninth Concession, afterwards Clare-
mont.

On January 15th, 1852, the Front Station took the
first steps toward erecting a church. It was proposed
and agreed that a committee of not more than eight be
appointed for the purpose of " ascertaining the practi-

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

cability of erecting a new meeting house for this section
of the congregation. The committee consisted of John
Parker, James Lawson, William Chisholm, George
Kilpatrick, David Gilchrist, William Thom and
Alexander Dunbar. A year later at the annual meeting
in January, ISSSf, the committee reported in favor of
proceeding to build.

Church and manse building has been a fruitful source
of discussion and division in the church at large. It
was so in the case of this congregation. Without re-
calling the details of the dispute, it may be said that
one party favored building the proposed church on the
Second Concession, and the other wished it to be built
on the Kingston Road. The one party was Scotch, and
so was the other, and the result was that each party
ultimately decided to build a church.

Erskine Church, Second Concession and
Claremont.

There was no delay. On March 5th, 1853, the plans
and specifications for the church on the second conces-
sion were adopted and signed by the contractor, Mr.
John Allison. The building was to be 44 feet long and
34 feet wide, and " all material of every description of
the best quality. The work to be done in a permanent,
good style, according to plans, drawings and specifica-
tions, the building to be finished on or before June 15th,
1854. Payments to be made as follows, in three in-
stalments, £75 to be paid December 1st, 1853, £72. 10s.
to be paid June 1st, 1854, and the balance, £73 10s., to
be paid December 1st, 1854, the congregation to do all

ERSKINE CHURCH

PKESBYTEEIANISM IN THE SECOND PERIOD

drawing of materials from a distance of not more than
seven miles,"

The building was completed, according to contract,
during the summer of 1854 and formally opened by
Rev. Dr. Jennings, of Toronto. By the close of the year
it was practically free from debt. At the annual meet-
ing, held in January, 1855, it was moved by Mr. A,
Buchan, seconded by Mr. D. Gilchrist, and carried,
"that this meeting house be named and designated
'The Erskine Church in connection with the United
Presbyterian Church in Canada.' "

In connection with the division arising over the
church site. Rev. W. A. Waddell demitted his charge,
the demission being accepted June 21st, 1853.

During 1855 Presbytery gave to each of the stations
complete and separate organization as a congregation,
the Back Station being called the United Presbyterian
Congregation of Claremont, the two congregations still
to form one pastoral charge.

In March, 1857, the congregation called Rev. John
Baird, of Jedburgh, Scotland. Mr, Baird was a native
of Milngavie, Dumbartonshire, and had been minister
of Castle Street (Antiburgher) congregation in Jed-
burgh from 1843 till 1853. He came to Canada in 1856
and, accepting the call to Pickering, was inducted on
April 14th, 1857. He continued in this pastorate for
about eleven years, and then became minister of Port
Stanley, Ontario, where he labored till his death in
1874. Though he had reached the sixty-seventh year
of his age and the thirty-second of his ministry, he was
engaged actively in the Master^s service to the very day
of his death. On the forenoon of Sabbath, Sept. 27th,

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

1874, he preached, as usual, to his people, and before
the close of the day he had passed to his reward.

After the close of Mr. Baird's pastorate in Pickering
there was a vacancy of over a year till the settlement
of Rev. William Peattie, in 1869. Mr. Peattie, like
his predecessor, a native of Scotland, had been for ten
years pastor of the congregation of Mount Pleasant,
Ontario. He continued in the Pickering pastorate till
December, 1881. Presbytery in accepting his resigna-
tion at that time adopted the following resolution:

" The Presbytery being constrained to accept Mr.
Peattie's resignation, desire to record their regret in
parting with a brother beloved and esteemed for his
self-denying and abundant labors in the field; his
geniality in the home; his fidelity in attendance upon
Church courts, and in discharge of any duties committed
to him. They this day give thanks to God that he has
been so long permitted to remain an honored fellow-
laborer, and pray that God may richly bless him in the
work of the Gospel in the future as He has in the past
wherever his lot may be cast."

Mr. Peattie since his retirement has lived in Toronto,
and is still able to visit occasionally the scene of his
labors in Pickering and to take a sympathetic interest
in the later progress of his old congregations.

On Mr. Peattie's resignation the congregations of
Claremont and Erskine, by mutual consent, dissolved
their union as a pastorate and the congregation of
Claremont was declared vacant after December 7th,
1881. The Erskine congregation was at this time look-
ing toward union with the congregation in Dunbarton.

THE OLD CHURCH, DUMBARTON

PEESBYTEEIANISM IN THE SECOKD PERIOD

The Dunbarton Congkegation.

We now turn to follow the course of the party in the
Pickering (2nd' con.) congregation, which in 1853
favored building the proposed church in Dtinbarton or
on the Kingston Road near Dunbarton, rather than on
the second concession.

A meeting was held at the home of Mr. William
Dunbar on January 28th, 1853, at which the following
resolutions were adopted :

1st. That a place of worship be erected in or near
the village of Dunbarton, with as little delay as possible,
agreeable to such plans and specifications as a majority
of the contributors approve.

2nd. That the following gentlemen be appointed a
building committee, with power to add to their number
to take subscriptions, collect contributions, and gener-
ally carry out the spirit of the above resolution, viz. :
John McKeggie, William Dunbar, William Chisholm,
George Kilpatrick, John Parker,

At a later meeting it was decided that the site of
the church be on the top of the hill in the corner of
Mr. Dunbar's orchard. This site, a quarter of an acre,
was purchased from Mr. Dunbar for twenty-five pounds.

On the 10th of March (5 days after the contract
for the building of the church on the Second Concession
had been let) an agreement was made with Mr. Mc-
Keggie to furnish 75,000 good bricks for the sum of
£72. 10s. Later a contract was made with Mr.
Murdock McKenzie for one hundred barrels of lime,
to be delivered at 2s. 9d., but a foot note in the record
adds : " paid 3's." The carpenter work was contracted

4 49

PAST YEARS IN PICKEKING

for at £94. 10s., all material being furnished by the
committee. In July Mr. Andrew Hubbard's offer for
supplying lumber was accepted at the rate of $10 a
thousand feet for clear and dry stuff, and $6 for com-
mon. And in August Mr. A. Archibald's offer for
mason work, bricklaying and plastering for the sum of
£68 was accepted, materials being furnished by the
committee.

Early in 1854 the Dunbarton people applied to the
session of the Erskme congregation for disjunction from
that body, and to Presbytery for separate organization
as a congregation, and were at the same time in com-
munication with the people of Duffin's Creek with re-
gard to establishing a station there. The following
minutes of a meeting of Toronto Presbytery, held on
May 9th, 1854, show the issue:

A petition was read from 20 members of the United
Presbyterian Church in the Village of Dunbarton, pray-
ing to be organized into a congregation apart from the
present United Presbyterian Congregation in Pickering,
and also such steps as may be thought requisite by the
Presbytery may be taken for a speedy election and
ordination of elders. Read also a petition signed by
14 persons in the Village of Canton (or Duffin's Creek,
now Pickering Village) and vicinity, praying to be
received into communion with the United Presbyterian
Church and formed along with the petitioners from
Dunbarton into a congregation. Bead also certain reso-
lutions of the United Presbyterian Congregation of
Pickering against the above petitions. Messrs. Dunbar,
Aitkin and Nesbit appeared as commissioners from the
petitioners in Dunbarton, and Messrs. W. Shear,

50.

PEESBYTEEIANISM IN THE SECOND PEKIOD

Andrew Hexon and W. Gormley as commissioners from
the petitioners in Canton. After deliberation it was
agreed to grant the prayer of the petitioners from Dun-
barton in connection with and under the inspection of
this Presbytery, and they are hereby organized accord-
ingly. Agreed also that Dr. Taylor meet with the peti-
tioners to give them notice of this on the 20th inst., and
that he meet with the petitioners from Canton on the
same day and deal with them according to the rules
for admission into membership; the designation of the
congregation to be "The United Presbyterian Congre-
gation of Dunbarton and Canton."

On May 21st, 1854, the new church in Dunbarton
was opened; Eev. William Ormiston preaching in the
morning and Eev. Dr. Taylor in the afternoon.

In September of that year the congregation decided
to call Eev. Alexander Kennedy. The call was signed
by about thirty members and about sixty adherents.
Mr. Kennedy accepted the call and was inducted into
the pastoral charge on October 3rd. Eev. Mr. Dick, the
Moderator pro tempore, presided, preached from Eo-
mans 8 : 32, and inducted and addressed the minister.
Eev. Mr. Pringle addressed the people. The Moderator
introduced Mr. Kennedy to the members of the con-
gregation, and Mr. Pringle constituted the Session and
introduced Mr. Kennedy to them as future Moderator.
At a meeting held April 6th, 1855, William Younke
was appointed Warden of the Church at a salary of $10
a year. Some eight or nine years later, Eobert Fal-
coner, the present worthy " warden," began the services,
which he has continued to perform for well-nigh half
a century.

CHAPTER VII.
THE AULD KIRK.

The history of the Church of Scotland in Pickering
begins with the coming of the Eev. James Lambie and
the organization of St. Andrew's Church, Duffin's
Creek, in the year 1840.

Mr. Lambie was born in the year 1805 in the parish
of Tarbolton, Ayrshire, and was licensed by the Pres-
bytery in 1827. He was assistant for five years to the
Rev. Mr. Reid, of New Cumnock, and afterwards for
some time was assistant to Rev. Dr. McLeod, of the
parish of Dundonald.

He came to Canada in 1840, and after a period of
missionary work among the scattered settlements in the
townships east of Lake Simcoe, was called by the com-
municants of the Church of Scotland in the Townships
of Whitby and Pickering in 1841. He made his home
in the village of Duffin's Creek, and ministered to a
wide circle of Presbyterians in the two townships.
After he had completed organization his two regular
preaching places were Duffin's Creek and St. John's on
the Seventh Concession. In addition to his work here
he made periodical missionary tours through the back
townships, principally Brock, Mariposa and Eldon,
holding sacramental services, baptising children,
solemnizing marriages and visiting the scattered com-

THE AULD KIRK

municants of the Church of Scotland in their homes.
He was closely and sympathetically in touch with the
people's needs, and his visits were looked forward to
with genuine pleasure. These journeys were laborious
and fatiguing to an extent hardly to be realized by
later generations. The primeval forest was only here
and there broken by the little " clearances " of the
pioneers, and the roads connecting them were of the
most primitive type. The only practicable means of
travelling for such distances, as were undertaken by
Mr. Lambie, was horseback, and many a mile in this
way, by daylight and dark, through fair weather and
foul, in summer and winter, did he cover in the pur-
suance of his self-denying ministrations.

On these trips services were sometimes held in John
McTaggart's house and barn, in Eobert McCully's
house, and in the old log school-house at Wick, as well
as in many others of the early settlers' houses. In
October, 1845, it is recorded that eighty-eight com-
municants were gathered and received the Sacrament
of the Lord's Supper in John McTaggart's log house,
after a sermon had been preached to a larger company
gathered on the threshing floor of the barn. This was
the beginning of the organization of St. Andrew's
Church, Sonya.

He was not permitted long to continue his labors.
In September, while visiting some immigrants who had
been exposed to the scourge known as "emigrant
fever," he contracted the dread disease and no remedies
were of any avail to check its course. He passed to his
rest on the 16th of September, 1847. Only six weeks
previous to this time he had been married to Janet

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

Graham, of Pickering. She survived liim for thirty-six
years, dying in 1883.

Among the resolutions of condolence passed by Pres-
bytery at its first meeting after his death are the follow-
ing references to Mr. Lambie:

" His labors as a missionary were cheerfully per-
formed without the least regard to the toils and sacri-
fices which they involved. He labored unremittingly
to gather in the lost sheep of the wilderness, and these
labors in the Lord have not been in vain, Mr. Lambie
was a man of high literary and theological attainments.
To these gifts God added his grace, and thus made him
an able minister of the Gospel."

A tribute to Mr. Lambie's worth, written by Mr.
William Dow, has the following sentences: "Mr.
Lambie's last sermon was preached from the text, Heb.
9 : 28 : ' And unto them that look for him shall he ap-
pear the second time without sin unto salvation.' This
was on September 5th, 1847. It was indeed a precious
sermon. I always waited till he came down from the
pulpit. He said he was not well, but spoke of attending
the Synod. He grew worse on Tuesday and expired on
the sixteenth. As a preacher Mr. Lambie was clear,
powerful and energetic, his prayers solemn, marked
with great earnestness and deep humility, yet often
sublime and elevated. He was the most self-denying,
most laborious servant of Christ I ever knew — no call
unanswered, no toil of body too much."

In the following year tlie congregation called as his
successor Rev. Peter McNaughton, of Vaughan. Mr.
McNaughton was the son of a Perthshire farmer, born
in 1797. He was educated at Glasgow University,
where he took the degree of M.A. In 1833 he was

THE AULD KIEK

ordained and inducted into the parish of Doors. Feel-
ing it his duty to help supply the need in Canada, he
gave up this comfortable living and crossed the Atlantic
in 1829. Soon after he was settled in Vaughan, where
he preached on the Fourth and Seventh Concessions,
both in Gaelic and English. He also preached on the
Ninth Concession and at Woodbridge, besides giving
occasional service in King and other more distant
townships. He was a well-known and welcome visitor
in many a backwoods cabin.

Physically, Mr. McNaughton was well-fitted for such
a toilsome life, being over six feet in height and power-
fully built. But constant overwork tells even on the
strongest, and when, in 1848, a call was extended to
him by the Pickering congregation, he accepted it as
offering some relaxation from the heavy strain. He was
settled in Pickering in 1849. Few to-day would regard
the Pickering charge of that time as a sinecure, with
its two charges over seven miles apart; but its duties
were somewhat lighter than those of Vaughan.

Mr. McNaughton's pastorate in Pickering was not a
long one. With the secularization of the Clergy Ee-
serves in 1854 the Government offered the Church of
Scotland ministers annuities of $450 on condition of
signing a certain document. The declaration contained
in this document he could not conscientiously subscribe,
and though all the other ministers ultimately consented
he remained firm. It meant the sacrifice of the annuity,
and Mr. McNaughton felt constrained to withdraw
from the Church he had. served all his life. In 1857
he took up residence on his farm near Brougham, and
in 1857 returned to Vaughan, where he built a hand-
some residence on his property near Maple. He

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

preached frequently and continued to take an active
interest in church work. He died in 1878, leaving a
widow and two sons and four daughters. Three
daughters and both the sons are still living, and are
well-known residents of Vaughan.

The next pastor was Rev. Walter Ross, a Scotchman,
from Aberdeenshire, who continued in charge till 1879.
During his pastorate, in the year 1872, the manse was
erected. At the first meeting of the new Presbytery
of Whitby in 1875, after the consummation of the
union of the Presbyterian churches, Mr. Ross was ap-
pointed the first clerk of the Presbytery. In 1879 the
" Canton " U. P. congregation wliich, up to this time,
had been a part of the Dunbarton charge, was formally
incorporated with the St. Andrew's congregation.

From its first organization the Established Church
charge had consisted of two congregations, one in Pick-
ering village and the other meeting on the Seventh Con-
cession. The latter built their church within the lot
now occupied by St. John's cemetery in the year 1848.
In the year 1891 the congregation moved their loca-
tion to the village of Brougham. The present brick
church had its corner stone laid on the 24th of June,
1890, and was opened for service on the 8th of Febru-
ary in the following year.

In later years the Pickering and Brougham congre-
gation has been served by the following pastors : Rev,
John Cameron, 1879, till May, 1888; Rev. Louis
Perrin, March, 1889, till February, 1894; Rev. Alex.
McAulay, September, 1894, till 1900; Rev. George
McGregor, April, 1901, till 1905; Rev. F. C. Harper,
1905, till 1907; Rev. William Moore, 1907, till the
present time.

CHAPTER VIII.

THREE DUN BARTON WORTHIES.

I. Mr. John Parker.

One of Mr. Kennedy's faithful allies through all the
years of his pastorate in Dunbarton was Mr. John Par-
ker. He was a native of Ayrshire, and came to Canada
in 1842, being then about 30 years of age. After a short
sojourn in the State of Illinois he established a business
in Toronto, where he resided for nine years. During a
part of this time he was in partnership with Mr. John
Kennedy, a brother of Rev. Alexander Kennedy.
He was married in 1851 to Hannah Tingle (nee Thom-
son of Scarboro') and immediately afterward settled in
Dunbarton, where he opened the first general store. On
October 6th, 1852, he was appointed the first post-
master of Dunbarton, an office which he filled till his
powers began to fail in extreme old age. In 1854, the
first year of Mr. Kennedy's pastorate, he was elected to
the eldership, and on being ordained was immediately
appointed Clerk of Session. The duties of this office
he performed continuously for thirty-seven years. For
about the same period he was Superintendent of the
Sabbath School, and no one took a more active and sys-
pathetic interest than he in all the best interests of the
Church and community.

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

Few men not directly engaged in educational or lit-
erary pursuits were so widely and deeply read as Mr.
Parker. The library which he accumulated as the years
went by was rich in the works of the masters. Theology,
History, Biography and Poetry were largely represented
as well as general literature. He was thus not only a
faithful fellow-laborer with Mr. Kennedy, but a man
of kindred mind and similar modes of thought and an
intimate and constant friend. In support of the church
and especially of its missionary and benevolent opera-
tions no one was more generous than he, and though
in those early years temperance was much less generally
advocated and practised than now he was always, as was
Mr. Kennedy, a consistent promoter of total abstinence.

In 1891, he was obliged to resign the office of Session
Clerk. He had reached a good old age, and after long
years of service his powers were waning. In September,
1895, his wife was taken from his side, and six weeks
later the call came for him and he entered into rest.
He was a true son of Scotland and of the Presbyterian
Church, of sound principle, keen intellect, steadfast
will and earnest practical religious sentiment.

II. Jonathan Holmes.

The name of Jonathan Holmes is another that the
people of Dunbarton must long hold in grateful and
affectionate remembrance. Born in 1827, a native of
Grassfield, Cumberland, he came with Mrs. Holmes to
Canada in 1855. For some time he held the position of
public school teacher in Brooklin and then some months
were spent as time-keeper in connection with the Grand

THREE DUNBARTON WORTHIES

Trunk Railway, the main line of which was then being
extended westward along the north shore of Lake On-
tario toward Toronto. While thus engaged he took up
his residence in Dunbarton and after the completion of
the line he accepted the position of teacher there, com-
mencing his duties in 1857, in the school which had
recently been erected on the hill, west of the village.
At the school meeting held in January, 1858, a hearty
vote of thanks was tendered Mr. Holmes for the efficient
manner in which the school had been conducted during
the year. From this time he continued in charge of the
school till the close of the year 1886, a period of twenty-
nine years. No other proof than this record is needed
of his ability and the satisfactory nature of the work
done in the school.

Mr. Holmes was originally connected with the Church
of England, but as that body was not represented in
the locality, he generously allied himself with the little
Presbyterian congregation in Dunbarton and served
it loyally through all the remaining years of his life.
As a member of Session, as Secretary of the Congre-
gation, as Clerk of Session, and as leader of the Ser-
vice of Praise, he won the esteem and gratitude of all
who cared for the welfare of the church.

After retiring from the active duties of his profes-
sion, he spent a little over three years in restful retire-
ment in Dunbarton. In the winter of 1889-90, he suf-
fered from an attack of influenza and never fully recov-
ered his strength. Towards spring, heart disease began,
and on the morning of May 18th, peacefully as he had
lived, he passed to his rest and reward.

A periodical of the following week says of him :

PAST YEAES IN PICKERING

"Since retiring from school work he has lived a quiet,
unassuming life, taking particular interest in Church
matters, and with the congregation as it is, without a
pastor, he will be all the more missed. As a leader
in prayer meeting, a Sunday School teacher, precentor
and secretary of church business, his place will be most
difficult to fill."

The funeral services were conducted by Rev. L.
Perrin, of Pickering, and were attended by many from
far and near, who mourned him as a faithful teacher
and a- true friend.

III. Mr. Peter Nesbit.

Mr. Peter Nesbit, another of the fathers of the com-
munity, was a native of Haddington, Scotland. At an
early age he was employed in herding sheep, his mother
rolling his little plaid around him and giving him a
barley bannock by way of lunch. In early manhood,
he crossed the Atlantic and for a time was employed
in railway construction in the vicinity of Buffalo. An
attack of ague compelled him to change his residence,
and he came to Canada. For some time he worked
with the farmers, but ultimately settled on the farm
on the Lake shore southeast of Dunbarton (now Mrs.
Walton's). One of the interesting experiences of his
early days in Canada was that of driving a herd of
cattle numbering about forty from this township to the
State of Michigan, walking with them all the way.

His marriage to Janet Muir, then recently out from
Scotland, and his settlement on the farm took place

THREE DUNBARTON WORTHIES

toward the close of the thirties. Mr. Nesbit and his
wife were for many years highly esteemed members of
the Erskine and later of the Dunbarton congregation.
In 1840, he was elected and ordained to the eldership,
an office which he held and the duties of which he per-
formed with ability and faithfulness to the close of
his life.

Mr. Nesbit was a man of high principle, upright and
conscientious in all his dealings and strenuously earnest
in upholding the right. His daughter writes of him:
"My father never neglected a duty if he knew it or
could in any way carry it out and many a dark and
stormy night I have seen him taking his staff in his
hand and walking to Dunbarton and back to attend
prayer meeting, saying it was less trouble to walk than
to take out a horse." In matters ecclesiastical, he mani-
fested the genuine Scotch conserva-tism, being, as were
many of the best men of his day, strongly opposed to
the introduction of hymns and the use of the organ in
public worship.

In the early fifties Mr. Nesb'it re-visited the land of
his birth. His mother had earnestly urged him to let
her see his face once more before her death. He
arrived just in time to gratify her wish; three days
later she passed away. He was always thankful that
he had been able to comply with her last request.

When the new Church in Dunbarton was erected, the
honor of laying the corner stone was conferred upon
Mr. Nesbit, in recognition of his many years of faithful
service in the Eldership.

As old age drew on, Mr. Nesbit retired from farming
and took up his residence in Dunbarton, in the house

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

he had built for himself there (now occupied by Mrs.
Wood). His wife, the true-hearted companion of nearly
half a century, was taken from his side in 1891, after
a prolonged period of patient suffering, and four years
later on March 10th, 1896, in the eighty-ninth year of
his age, Mr. Nesbit himself closed his pilgrimage, a
father in Israel revered and mourned by the whole
community.

CHAPTEK IX.

TEN GREAT YEARS— LIFE IN UPPER CANADA
IN THE "FIFTIES/'

"Boom" times are always interesting; and one of
Canada's early booms came during the deoade between
1850 and 18G0. Farms were being rapidly cleared and
improved : prices were good and the settlers were pros-
perous and hopeful. The young Province was beginning
to feel its strength; its life was not lacking in stirring
interests of its own, nor were its people backward in
intelligent participation in the wider interests of the
world.

The famous Clergy Reserves question was a very
"live issue," and was discussed in every district in the
Province. As early as 1839, the managers of the United
Presbyterian Congregation in Pickering, upon inquiry
whether the land granted to the "Presbyterian congre-
gation of Pickering" could be acquired by them, found
"that their not being in connection with the Church
of Scotland precluded them from enjoying the benefit
of the grant." In the U. P. Presbytery of Toronto,
meeting on June 3rd, 1851, it was resolved "that the
Presbytery, regarding the division of the proceeds of
the Clergy Eeserve Lands among several denominations
a's exceedingly injurious both to the Interests of re-
ligion and to the welfare of the Province, and consid-

PAST YEAES IN PICKERING

ering the benefits that would result from their appro-
priation to Provincial Education, agreed to overture
the Synod to take the matter into consideration and to
give deliverance accordingly." So Conferences and
Synods drew up protests and condemnations and recom-
mendations until at last in 1854 the Legislature de-
voted the remaining proceeds of the lands to purely
secular purposes.

The subjects which engaged the attention of church
courts in the fifties were strangely like those which
they discuss to-day, and which some are apt to regard
as peculiarly modern. "Church Union" was one of the
common themes, but the bodies among which union was
proposed were considerably smaller, and perhaps in
some respects more akin to each other than the great
organizations which now propose to amalgamate. The
scarcity of candidates for the ministry was engaging
the anxious consideration of those who from the stand
point of religion and morality were regarding the rapid
development of the Province. Even German Biblical
scholarship was not unknown. An orthodox reviewer
of 1854 could remark, "It is understood to be rather
characteristic of German writers speedily and entirely
to abandon theories for which they once contended."
But if caustic they were not intentionally unfair, for the
same writer continues: "In all such cases, however,
the great question is "What is truth?" and the
mature opinion of such a man as Hengstenberg is
worth knowing and considering whether we adopt it or
not."

Chtirch life in the fifties had its social side as it ever
must have. The common church entertainment in

TEN" GREAT YEARS

those days was known as a "soiree," a word which seems
to have been almost entirely dropped from our later
vocabulary. A contemporary report of one held in
Brantford in 1854 will give a fair idea of what a
soiree was : "A soiree was teld in the U. P. Church here
on the evening of the 7th ult., for the purpose of
enabling the congregation to liquidate the remainder
of the debt incurred in the erection of a substantial and
commodious Manse for their pastor, an act alike ex-
pressive of their regard for him and their zeal for the
cause. Upwards of four hundred partook of tea, coffee,
and other innumerables which a lady's ingenuity only
can contrive, and for which a lady's vocabulary only can
supply names. Rev. A. A. Dnimmond, having taken
the chair, offered a few appropriate remarks and then
introduced to the meeting Rev. J. Dunbar of Glen
Morris, who delivered a neat, sparkling and telling ad-
dress on the influence and efficiency of woman, especially
in the Mission field, after which Rev. W. Ormiston of
Toronto, delivered in his usual happy and enthusiastic
manner a most powerful and soul-entrancing speech on
*The Sociality of Religion,' to a delighted and ap-
plauding assembly — a speech highly characteristic of the
man and most appropriate to the occasion. In the
interval between the addresses a select choir present for
the occasion delighted the audience as well as agree-
ably variegated the exercises of the evening with some
beautiful pieces of music."

The churches of that time could never allow their

thoughts to long ignore the call and the problems of

missionary work. The expanding Province was daily

calling for men to follow up the settlers in the newer

5 65

PAST YEARS IN PICKEEING

portions. But their outlook was wider than the Prov-
ince. The Canadian United Presbyterian Magazine
and similar publications kept the settlers in the new land
closely informed of the missionary operations of the
parent churches in Scotland. Even in small and strug-
gling congregations missionary organizations were
during this period formed, which by patient and system-
atic endeavor raised very considerable sums for the ex-
tension of the Kingdom into "^the regions beyond." In
1854 Dr. Duff, the great Scottish missionary to India,
visited Canada and aroused much interest and enthus-
iasm by his vivid descriptions and impassioned appeals.
These "ten years" were "great" as an era of railway
construction in Ontario. In 1851 the first sod of the
Northern was turned. In 1853 the first passenger
train ran between Toronto and Aurora. In 1856 the
Grand Trunk, which had been creeping westward along
the north shore of Lake Ontario, completed its line to
Toronto. The increased facilities for transportation
were of infinite importance to the Young Province.
And plans of yet greater magnitude were being devised.
A recent writer speaking of tJie time says: "That big
enterprises were in contemplation is shown by a peti-
tion presented to the Legislative Assembly of Upper
Canada in 1854, asking for power to build from Mon-
treal up the valley of the Ottawa, across the north
shore of Lake Huron to the western boundary of Can-
ada, thence along the southern shore of Lake Superior
and on to Puget Sound and the mouth of the Columbia
River." Who will say that the fathers of Ontario away
back in the fifties had not already begun to "think
imperially" ?

TEN GEEAT YEARS

While railroads were advancing rapidly something
was being done to better the condition of the humbler
but not less necessary wagon-roads through the pro-
vince. In some, probably in many localities, they
were much in need of improvement. A Presbyterian
preacher itinerant along the north shore of Lake
Ontario in the spring of 1854 writes: To give you
some idea of the roads — it was April — I had in one
instance to tie up, turn to and assist in unyoking and
rolling lout of the mire a poor animal in the middle
of Her Majesty's Canadian Highway, alias the King-
ston Eoad as they call it; but this was a long way
west of Port Hope. By performing this act of neces-
sity and mercy I cleared my conscience, and felt happier
far in my sadly soiled clothes than any surpliced priest
could have done had he passed by on the other side."

This rather facetious "preacher" arrived in Cobourg
on the day on which Dr. Duff was to lecture there. He
thus relates his sight-seeing in that town. "While
waiting for night and Dr. Duff's lecture I took a soli-
tary stroll in search of the lions of the place, if any
such there were. I found my way to Victoria College,
an educational institution got up and chiefly supported
by the Wesleyans, I believe. The buildings are mod-
estly elegant and commodious and the internal arrange-
ments apparently convenient. The bell rang as I ap-
proached and I found ray way into the mathematical
class-room. There was a goodly muster of students,
the number 1 fiorget, most of them boys in their teens
and seemingly not far advanced in them. It was re-
visal day or hour, so I was denied the pleasure of listen-

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

ing to a lecture on the sublime science from an appar-
ently very capable professor whose face was 'sicklied o'er
with the pale cast of thought'. Several of the lads
gave indication of very considerable talent, but some of
them I fear will not be able to calculate for a long
time the return of the last comet. The class dismissed
and I left, musing on my college days and my Alma
Mater in a far but favored land. Victoria College,
although a juvenile institution in more senses than one,
was not wanting in interest to me from the fact that
it was within its walls that our gifted friend and bro-
ther, Rev. W. Ormiston, studied and taught so success-
fully. May it be honored with many like Alumni."

During part of the decade we are considering the
Crimean AVar was in progress, and England, France
and Russia were being drained of their bravest blood
on the "deadly little triangle north of the Black Sea."
Canada even at that early date was not unmindful of her
relationship to the Empire, inasmuch as one of the most
effective regiments in the army, the Royal Canadian
100th, was recruited from among her sons. The rise
in the price of wheat was not the only interest Canad-
ians had in the conflict. Many homes in the Canadian
bush had relatives who went out to fight and fall in the
carriage of Balaclava and Inkerman and the Alma,
After the latter battle the Legislature voted £30,000
for the relief of the widows and orphans of those
who fell. Probably, too, the impulse to the organiza-
tion of a volunteer force in 1855 came largely from the
military spirit engendered by the stirring war news
from the distant Crimea.

TEN GREAT YEARS

The commerce of the country was increasing by rapid
stages. The exports in timber and grain were larger
than ever before and imports of clothing and household
supplies were correspondingly increased. In 1852 the
bonding system was arranged with the United States
for the transhipment of merchandise received at the
American Atlantic ports. In 1854 commercial reci-
procity was established between Canada and the United
States. The control of postal affairs was entrusted to
the Canadian Parliament in 1851, and the three-cent
rate, with the use of postage stamps, was introduced
in that year. In 1858 the use of the old cumbersome
£. s. d. currency was supplanted by the adoption of the
decimal system.

We of the early years of the twentieth century speak
of ourselves as living in the formative period, "the na-
tion-building time," and perhaps not wrongly, but our
fathers in the "fifties" did their part, and no little part,
in forming and in building too. They had their as-
pirations and their plans for nationhood as well as we
and were laying not unworthily the foundations of the
Dominion that was to be.

Pickering in the Fifties.

For Pickering Township as well as for the rest of
the township these were ten great years. It was a
period of development unsurpassed by any similar period
in municipal, industrial, educational and ecclesiastical
affairs. The township already had a considerable popu-
lation and a comparatively large acreage under cultiva-
tion. In 1842 the population had been 3,752, by 1850

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

it had increased to 6,385. In 1848 there were reported
as under cultivation in Pickering 31,252 acres, and 7
grist mills and 27 sawmills were in operation. In 1849
there were 18 schools in the township and a total of
£849 was being paid in salaries to the teachers. Scar-
bono at this time had 10 schools, Markham 26 and
Whitby 23.

In 1850 the first regular municipal council was
elected. It consisted of W. H. Michell, Reeve; R. A.
Parker, Deputy Reeve, and Peter Taylor, Frederick
Green and Joshua Wixon, Councillors. Peter Taylor
was the township's first treasurer under the new regime ;
Hector Beaton held the three offices of Clerk, Collector
and Assessor. Rev. A. W. Waddell was Superintendent
of Common Schools and P. F. Whitney and George
Begg were auditors.

ALEXANDER KENNEDY

CHAPTER X.
REV. ALEXANDER KENNEDY.

In reviewing their history as a congregation, the
Presbyterians of Dunbarton must ever give a chief place
in their affectionate regard to the Rev. Alexander Ken-
nedy, who was minister of the congregation from 1854
till 1883.

He was born and brought up in the parish of New
Cumnock, Ayrshire, his father being tenant of the farm
of Dalricket Mill, and an elder in the Secession Church
in the neighboring parish of Old Cumnock. The faith-
ful ministrations of the Rev, David Wilson, who was
minister of this Church from 1788 till 1822, and the
careful religious tuition of his father were chief among
the early influences that helped to form Mr. Kennedy's
character. The district was rich in memories of "cov-
enanting" days, and these too had their effect on his
mind and heart as a lad. Many years afterwards he
wrote of the grave of Alexander Peden at the "gallows-
fit," in New Cumnock. "That was a sacred spot to
me. I loved to linger by Peden's grave. Well can I
remember — and it is perhaps forty-five years ago — sit-
ting on the broad tombstone and eating my Sabbath
day 'piece.' The stone lay flat on the ground over
the spot where the good man's body had been laid.
Having read with avidity and deep interest the records

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

of the labors and sufferings of the martyr-heroes of
my native land, the grave of one of those men of whom
the world was not then worthy and whose memory was
yet traditionally fragrant in the district could not fail
to have attractions for me ; and every visit to such a spot
deepened my detestation of oppression, which has never
waned, and fanned in me the love of liberty, both civil
and religious, a feeling which has only waxed I ween as
years and intimacy with the world's wickedness have
increased."

Having completed the necessary preparatory studies,
Mr. Kennedy proceeded to Glasgow University. His
room was shared by another student from Cumnock,
David McCowan. Their supplies of provisions were
sent by carrier at regular intervals, the box being filled
alternately by the mothers of the two young men. Mr.
Kennedy took the full university course and passed all
the examinations for the degree, but because of the high
fee charged for the degree itself he did not actually
claim the parchment. He then took his theological course
in the Divinity Hall of the Secession Church in Glas-
gow.

During his collegiate career Mr. Kennedy seems to
have studied for some time also in Edinburgh, where
he formed an intimate friendship with George Gilfillan,
afterwards well known in the theological and literary
life of Scotland. It is related that the two students
often took long walks together, during which their con-
versation sometimes became so animatedly argumen-
tative as to attract the attention of by passers. Both
were men of strong mind and ever ready to defend
their opinions with an abounding measure of the "per-

KEV. ALEXANDER KENNEDY

fervidum ingenium Scotorum." Mr. Kennedy in later
days used pawkily to refer to these arguments by saying,
that people sometimes came to the conclusion that he
was a "Keeper taking out from some asylum a rather
dangerous lunatic for a walk in the open air."

On completing his theological training in 1835, he
was ordained and appointed missionary to Trinidad,
being sent as the missionary representative, particularly
of Greyfriars' Congregation, Glasgow. Before setting
out for his distant field of labor he was united in mar-
riage to Mary Dalzeil, daughter of John Dalzeil, of
Glasgow. Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy arrived on the Island
of Trinidad on Janary 25th, 1836, and settled in Port
of Spain, the capital of the island. His labors were
mainly among the merchants and clerks of the town,
but there were also many negroes within the sphere of
his ministrations. As he was the pioneer Presbyterian
missionary there, on his shoulders fell the double burden
of combatting established evils and of organizing and
establishing the forces that make for righteousness. His
church in Port of Spain was known by the name of
the church under whose auspices he had been sent.
Grey Friars. From the beginning he set himself to seek
to better the condition of the negroes and to prevent
the injustice and heartless oppression from which they
suffered. This naturally brought him into keen conflict
with a certain powerful class in the colony, but he was
ever ready to defend the stand he took. In 1840, the
Anti-Slavery Society, in recognition of his services,
presented him with an address and a snuif box.

For fourteen years, amid many discouragements and
I' hindrances, Mr. Kennedy gave himself to arduous work

PAST YEARS IN" PICKERING

in Port of Spain. Then, in 1850, with health sadly
broken down by the tropical climate, he turned his steps
homeward, intending to take a period of rest in his
native land. Having relatives and friends in the United
States and Canada, he decided to visit them on the way.
But on reaching Canada he found wide doors of oppor-
tunity for service and cast in his lot with the church
in Upper Canada for whatever years of labor might
remain to him. In the bracing northern air he largely
recovered from the ravages which the Southern climate
had made in his constitution and though never what
might be called a strong man he was spared to give
many years of earnest work to the Master's Cause.

He was received as a minister into the U. P. Pres-
bytery of Toronto in September, 1850, and having been
called to Darlington was inducted into the pastoral
charge of the congregation there on December 3rd of
that year. He labored in Darlington till the spring of
1854, when he resigned the charge. During the summer
he was employed in the Presbytery of Wellington and
received a call to the congregation of Brant. His former
charge in Darlington also endeavored to induce him to
return. Both were declined. In September, a call from
the congregation of Dunbarton and Canton in favor of
Mr, Kennedy, signed by thirty-three members and sixty-
eight adherents, was read and sustained by Presbytery.
This call Mr. Kennedy accepted, and on October 3rd — a
memorable day for Dunbarton — he was inducted into
the pastoral charge. Rev. Mr. Dick, of Richmond Hill,
as moderator, pro tempore, had charge of the services.
He preached from Romans 8 :32, .and inducted and
addressed the minister. Rev. Mr. Pringle addressed

EEV. ALEXANDER KENNEDY

the people and afterwards constituted the session and
introduced Mr. Kennedy to them as their future mod-
erator.

In this charge Mr. Kennedy labored uninterruptedly
till April, 1879, excepting for three months in the
summer of 1863, when he and Mrs. Kennedy visited
Scotland. Several times during the later years of his
ministry he had tendered his resignation feeling that
with gradually failing strength he could not do justice
to the work committed to him, but at the earnest solici-
tation of his people, as well as of his brethren in the
Presbytery, he was each time persuaded still to continue
his ministrations.

In 1879, however, he pressed the acceptance of his
resignation and when the matter came before Presby-
tery the following extract minute of a meeting of the
congregation was read by Mr. John Parker: "Wliile
regretting very much the loss we will sustain by the
pastoral relation being dissolved between Mr. Kennedy
and this congregation, yet in the circumstances we offer
no opposition to his resignation being accepted, but
would petition Presbytery to appoint him stated supply
and also as moderator of Session, and if this prayer
be granted we promise to pay him the same amount as
previously." Such a petition shows that he had in no
common degree won and held the respect and affection
of his people. In accordance with the petition. Pres-
bytery in accepting his resignation appointed him "to
act as moderator of Session and also to give such supply
to the congregation as the state of his health will
permit." At this time also the connection between Dun-
barton and Canton congregations was dissolved, the

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

latter being joined with St. Andrew's of DuflSn's
Creek.

Presbytery at its meeting adopted the following
minute in reference to Mr. Kennedy's resignation:

"In loosing the tie that has so long and pleasantly
bound Mr. Kennedy and the congregation of Dunbar-
ton together the Presbytery considers the advanced age
and the great length of time he has served in the min-
istry and accedes to his request the more readily in the
hope that, freed from the active duties of the ministry,
he may enjoy a ripe old age. The Presbytery would
record its gratitude to the great Head of the Church,
who has spared His servant so long to labor in His
service, and would also record its high appreciation of
Mr. Kennedy as a faithful, devoted and successful min-
ister of Jesus Christ. Mr. Kennedy spent the first
fourteen years of his ministry in the Island of Trinidad,
and came to this country with his health shattered, but
was ready to enter upon any work his enfeebled strength
permitted him to do till in the year 1854, with health
greatly recruited, he settled in Dunbarton. The con-
tinued and still growing attachment of that people to
their venerable pastor is his highest praise. The warm
friendship that subsists between Mr. Kennedy and all
the members of Presbytery bespeaks his worth as a
brother and a true friend, and it is very pleasing to
know that Mr. Kennedy is still to be aitiong us to cheer
us with his presence and aid us with his counsel — and
it is this fact whicb makes it easier for the Presbytery
to free him from his pastoral work. That he may be
long spared to witness for Christ, both by his minis-
terial gifts and his ripening graces, is the fervent prayer

EEV. ALEXANDEK KENNEDY

of this Presbytery, and when the Master calls him home
in a ripe old age, may he enjoy the sweeter and nearer
presence and hear the welcome 'Well done, good and
faithful servant, enter into the joy of thy Lord.' "

For three years longer, with gradually lessening
strength but with undiminished zeal and unchanged
acceptance and appreciation on the part of his people,
Mr. Kennedy continued to labor as "stated supply," but
at length he felt even this burden too heavy to be longer
borne. When Presbytery met in April, 1882, he begged
to be relieved of all charge after the last Sabbath of the
month. Presbytery acceded to the request by the fol-
lowing resolution: —

"The Presbytery, while granting this request, would
again express their regret that the growing infirmities
of age necessitate the venerable father of the Presbytery
to retire from all work, and would follow him with their
earnest prayers that he may yet be often permitted to
preach Christ and Him Crucified to his fellow-men, an(\
that he may enjoy in his own soul the sweet comforts of
the Gospel which he has administered so often to others.
The Presbytery still hopes to meet with Mr. Kennedy
and to enjoy his valuable counsel."

On thus completely severing his ministerial connec-
tion with the Dunbarton congregation, the members and
adherents presented him with an address and a purse
of $143. As was most fitting, the address was read and
presentation made by Mr. Jonathan Holmes, who, for a
quarter of a century, had been teacher of the public
school in the village, a member of session and Mr.
Kennedy's near neighbor and trusted friend.

On leaving Dunbarton, Mr. Kennedy took up his

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

residence in Newcastle, influenced largely by the desire
to be near his friend, Mr. Drummond, the minister
there. In the year following, however, Mrs. Kennedy
was called away by death and Mr. Kennedy spent the
remaining years of his life in the home of his brother-
in-law, Mr. Cowper, at Welland.

Twice during the remaining years of his life, Mr.
Kennedy took public part in services in connection with
the Dunbarton charge. In 1883, when Rev. R. M.
Craig was ordained and inducted as his successor, he
was present and gave the address to the newly settled
pastor, and again in 1890, when Rev. John Chisholm
succeeded Mr. Craig, the address to the minister was
given by Mr. Kennedy.

On January 3rd, 1892, he preached twice at Welland,
the text of his evening sermon being "And there shall
be no night there." During that week he was attacked
by influenza and, though on the following Sabbath he
attended church and a lecture on the Monday evening,
he was never himself again. From the 11th to the
18th, he was critically ill, but again on that day he
seemed to rally somewhat so that the doctor expressed
the opinion that he would recover. That night he rested
well, excepting for two brief attacks of coughing. After
the latter he insisted on his attendant lying down awhile
and, placing his hand across his breast, composed him-
self for rest and fell into a quiet sleep. On returning,
the attendant found him lying in the same position.
The call had come for him and he had passed into the
unseen.

Two days later the worn out body was laid to rest
beside that of his partner in life at Bowmanville, the

REV. ALEXANDEE KENNEDY

Presbytery of Whitby attending as a body and the
funeral sermon being preached by Rev. John Abraham,
of Whitby.

Though often pressed to prepare an autobiography,
Mr. Kennedy was of so extremely humble a tempera-
ment that he never consented, thinking it savored too
much of self advertisement. Once indeed, in 1860-61,
he contributed, but anonymously, to the Canadian
United Presbyterian Magazine a series of sketches of
"Scottish scenes and Sabbaths more than forty years
ago." These, after another forty years, have again been
brought to light by republication. Mr. David Scott,
of Boghead, Girvan, Scotland, having preserved a set
of the Magazines, has had them re-issued as a neat little
book of seventy-five pages, under the editorial introduc-
tion of Rev. J. K. Scott, B.D., of Frazerburgh, who is
himself a nephew of Mr. Kennedy This is practically
all that has been preserved from his pen, but some
MS. sermons, many letters, and some more or less frag-
mentary diaries and note books, which at his death
passed into the hands of his nephew. Rev. A. K. Baird,
D. D., of Mount Vernon, Iowa, it is hoped may yet
furnish material for a more extended biography. It
must ever be regretted, however, that of scores of news-
paper articles written, both in Trinidad and in Canada,
not one has been preserved. It is known that he wrote
editorially for years for a paper in Trinidad and that
often through the whole of his life he took part in news-
paper discussions on voluntaryism, temperance, and the
treatment of the colored races. On these matters he
held decided and well-matured opinions and as Dr.

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

Baird has said, "he was in the thickest of the fight both
in Trinidad and in Canada."

Mr. Kennedy was essentially a minister of the old
School, exercising a wise ministerial authority and zeal-
ously careful of the moral and religious welfare of
those under his charge. Sin in high place or low was
sternly rebuked and evil of whatever class unsparingly
denounced. His own integrity of principle and con-
scientiousness of life gave force to his admonitions.
Men knew that he was a true man and every form of
unmanliness felt ashamed in his presence. In theologi-
cal controversy he was keen and strong, ever forward
to defend the principles he regarded as fundamental.
Yet withal he was a genial and brotherly man, generous
and warm hearted. The spirit of his home life toward
all who entered the manse was that of kindliest hospi-
tality.

To those who lived on terms of intimate friendship
with him, no feature of his character was more mark-
edly noticeable than his genuine unselfishness. Dr.
Baird says of him: "He never speculated or loaned
money, except to help one in need, and then usually
if not always without interest." At his death he left an
estate which, after paying the simple funeral expenses,
amounted to about one hundred and fifty dollars. But
he was rich in good works and in the innumerable alms-
deeds which he had done.

With regard to his qualities of heart and capacity for
friendship perhaps no better testimony could be borne
than that of the following sentences from a letter written
by Dr. Baird. "His affectionate regard for me was
always a pleasing mystery to me. We had our hot

EEV. ALEXANDEE KENNEDY

passes, I am sorry to say, but our friendship and hroth-
ership were never broken. For thirty-three years our
attachment was close and unbroken and our corres-
pondence uninterrupted. He was not an uncle to me,
but a father, and not a father either, but a brother, for
somehow I never felt that he was older than I. He
was so much to me that I was satisfied I did not try to
make and hold other close confidants. I just always
opened my heart to him. I found him so cautious and
wise and disinterested in all his counsels and so kindly
interested in me that my heart rested on him."

As a speaker Mr. Kennedy was quick and incisive,
a teacher rather than an orator. He was perhaps at his
best in conducting the Bible Class, which was an im-
portant part of his work. He had an excellent sense
of humor and a large fund of anecdotes, which made him
an interesting companion and a widely popular speaker.
At tea-meetings and similar entertainments, he was
much in demand, yet while his addresses were enlivening
they were not wholly light, there was ever some deeper
note struck so that the "things that are more excellent'*
might not be wholly forgotten.

One of the evils which Mr. Kennedy set himself most
strenuously to oppose was that of drunkenness and the
liquor traffic. In a time when the use of intoxicants
was much more general than now, and much more
leniently regarded in public thinking, he was a zealous
advocate of total abstinence. His views on this subject
were fixed in his earlier years. It is told that on one
occasion in his student days he did not hesitate to re-
prove even the fathers of the Presbytery for their laxity
of principle and conduct in this regard. He had been
6 81

PAST YEARS IN PICKEEING

present at a meeting of Presbytery, probably submitting
some student exercise or other, for in those days Pres-
byterial oversight of students was a very real thing.
At the meeting a member of Presbytery had been de-
posed from the ministerial office for drunkenness. But
at the Presbytery dinner following the meeting intoxi-
cating drinks were used as before. Some opportunity
was afforded Mr. Kennedy of addressing the members,
and, referring to the use of liquor on the table, he made
the significant remark : "You have this day stroked the
lion that has slain your brother." It is not known how
the ministers received the well-merited rebuke, but it
was nothing less than heroic that a student should speak
in such terms to his ecclesiastical superiors and judges.
It is scarcely necessary to add that the course of Mr.
Kennedy's action in later years never belied the promise
of the word he spoke at this Presbytery dinner.

In closing this brief sketch of a truly noble life it
should be emphasized that the relationship subsisting
between Mr. Kennedy and his people in Dunbarton
was almost perfectly ideal. He was supported in the
oversight of the congregation by men of principles and
of temperament similar to his own. John Parker,
Jonathan Holmes and Peter Nesbit are names that must
ever be enshrined with his in the love and veneration
of the people of the community. There may have been
some who differed from him in opinions, but his sin-
cerity of purpose, his noble integrity of life and his
loyalty to the King, whose Servant he was, held change-
lessly the genuine respect and affection of the whole
people.

[Since the above sketch was written it has come to

EEV. ALEXANDEE KENNEDY

the writer's notice that a memoir of Mr. Kennedy ex-
tending to about a hundred pages was written and
published in 1910, in Port of Spain, Trinidad, by C. B.
Franklin, Esq., and that a tablet is being erected to
his memory in Greyfriars Church, in that place. Mr.
Franklin's memoir is entitled "After Many Days," and
gives a very satisfactory account of Mr. Kennedy's
earlier ministry. It has an introduction written by
Eev. E. E. Welsh, D.D., of the Presbyterian College,
Montreal, who is a son of one of Mr. Kennedy's younger
sisters. This publication is another testimony to the
enduring impression made by him upon the communities
which he so faithfully served.]

CHAPTER XI.
LATER PRESBYTERIANISM.

DUNBARTON.

Immediately after the close of Mr. Kennedy's labors
in Dunbarton, negotiations began for the union of the
Erskine and Dtinbarton charges. Articles of Union
were drawn up which were agreed to on May 16th, 1883,
and in the presence of the two congregations the union
was consummated, Eev. Mr. Drummond offering up
solemn prayer. The basis of union " suggests to the
Session of the United Church the advisability of hold-
ing an occasional service in Erskine Church as oppor-
tunity for doing good may offer."

Scarcely was this union completed when another
came under discussion, that of " Dunbarton and
Erskine" with 'Melville Church, Scarboro. Melville
Church being in Toronto Presbytery, the matter was
referred .to Synod, which decided that the united
charge should remain in Whitby Presbytery. On May
29th, 1883, Whitby Presbytery formally received Mel-
ville Church and declared Dunbarton and Melville
Church one pastoral charge.

On July 17th a call came before Presbytery from the
united congregations in favor of Mr. R. M. Craig. It
was signed by 78 members and 30 adherents at Dun-
barton and 44 members and 7 adherents at Melville.

LATEE PEESBYTEEIANIS'M

The call was sustained by Presbytery and accepted by
Mr. Craig. On August 14th Presbytery met for Mr.
Craig's ordination and induction, Eev. John Abraham
presiding. Mr. Craig's trials were heard and sustained,
Eev. S. H. Eastman preached from Jer. 1 : 6. Eev.
J. Abraham ordained and inducted, Mr. Kennedy ad-
dressed the minister and Mr. Drummond the people.

Mr. Craig remained minister of the charge for a
little over five years, during which period the outstand-
ing event was the building of the new church.

At the annual meeting, January 23rd, 1886, Mr.
ISTesbit moved, and Mr. Parker seconded, "that in the
opinion of this meeting it is advisable to proceed with
the building of a new church. This motion being car-
ried, it was followed by another appointing Messrs.
William Dunbar, Peter ISTesbit, Jonathan Holmes,
George Parker and Peter Annan a committee to make
an estimate and get other necessary information as
soon as possible. On February 6th a congregational
meeting was held, when it was decided to draw up a
subscription list. A week later the committee in
charge of the list reported a total of $2,384 subscribed.
On June 17th the corner-stone of the church was laid,
and early in the following year the church was opened
for worship.

At the close of 1888 Mr. Craig resigned the chaige,
his resignation taking effect at the end of January,
1889.

In September, 1889, the manse property in Dun-
barton was purchased from Mr. Eobert Dunbar, of
Buffalo, for $500.

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

In August, 1890, a call was issued to Rev. John
Chisholm, of the Presbytery of British Columbia. He
accepted the call, and was inducted on September 2nd.
At this service Rev. L. Perrin of Pickering preached.
Rev. S. H. Eastman presided and inducted. Mr.
Kennedy addressed the minister and Mr. Abraham the
people. Mr. Chisholm's pastorate extended over nine
years, his resignation taking effect in October, 1899.

At the close of Mr. Chisholm's pastorate the union
with Melville Church was dissolved. The Dunbarton
charge was placed under the care of Rev. William Mor-
rin as " stated supply " from September, 1900, till
July, 1903. A year later Rev. W. R. Wood was settled.
In this year services at Rosebank were undertaken as a
regular part of the work of the charge. In 1909 Rev.
A. L. McFadyen was inducted and is the present
pastor.

Clabjemont.

In the year 1876, during the pastorate of Rev.
William Peattie, the present Presbyterian Church in
Claremont was built. The earlier church, a frame build-
ing, had stood just north of the old manse (the house
now occupied by Mr. T. Graham, south of the village).
The opening services of the church were held on May
28th, when Mr. Peattie offered the dedicatory prayer,
and Rev. John James, D.D., preached.

Mr. Peattie was succeeded, in 1885, by Rev. A. H.
Kippan, who was inducted on April 14th. During his
pastorate the congregation lost one of its oldest servants
in the person of Mr. Ebenezer Birrell, who died Febru-
ary 27th, 1888. Toward the close of Mr. Kippan'a

LATER PRESBYTEEIANISM

pastorate (1893) the present manse was built. In
April, 1894, Mr. Kippan resigned the charge.

In the following year the congregation lost another
of its oldest servants. Mr. Peter Maenab had been an
elder in Scotland for nine years. Coming to Canada
in 1856, he accepted the office in the Claremont congre-
gation in 1873, continuing till his death, March 16th,
1895, at the age of 97 years.

The later pastors of the congregation are Eev. John
MacLean, inducted Sept. 24th, 1895, Eev. W. B.
Findlay, ordained and inducted March 15th, 1898; Eev.
Murray C. Tait, ordained and inducted May 27th,
1902, and Eev. W. E. Wood, inducted December 1st,
1908.

CHAPTER XII.

THE BAPTIST CHUBCH.

The honor of first organization as a Christian church
in the township of Pickering is due to the Baptist
denomination. The earliest settlers in the northern
half of the township were of that persuasion and were
at first affiliated with the Baptist church in Markham.
But as early as October 27th, 1821, separate organiza-
tion was effected, which not only became permanent,
but has continued to be through later years an expanding
and vitally progressive religious force in the community.
The narrative of the beginnings is best told in the words
of the official records which follow : —

Minutes of the Proceedings of a considerable number
of Baptist brethren who were separated from the first
Baptist Church in Markham.

Saturday, 4th August, 1821.
This day were separated from the said church Joshua
Wixon, Eachel Wixon and Amos Wixon. The crimes
were said to be Heresy and causing confusion in the
Church or disorderly walk.

Here it may be proper to observe that the heresy for
which Bro. Joshua Wixon was excluded was for pleading
the right of brotherhood in favor of an excommunicated
member upon his confession of his wrong.

The disorderly walk for which Br. Amos Wixon and
Sister Eachel Wixon were excluded was contending

THE BAPTIST CHURCH

against paying a salary to Elder George Barclay, which
had also been opposed by Brother Joshua Wixon as an
unscriptural practice, as Christ says that an hireling
careth not for the sheep because he is an hireling and
not the owner of the sheep. In opposing this idea a
sharp debate ensued in which Br. Amos and Sister
Rachel Wixon were degraded for lack of knowledge,
called ignorant persons, and at length ordered to a total
silence by Elder Barclay, who appeared to be angry.

R. Wixon.

Note. — It was on the 2nd June, 1821, that Brother
Joshua Wixon pled the right of brotherhood as above
stated, and on the 30th June the debate aforesaid hap-
pened. At the day of separation, neither of the above
three were present, neither had any labor been taken
with any of them. R. W.

l&t September, 1821. — This day were separated six-
teen more for not giving a voice against the other three,
called taking part with the heresy and disorder.

R. WixON.

Men's Names. Women's Names.

Joshua Wixon Rachel Wixon

Amos Wixon. Elizabeth Wurts

Randall Wixon Mary Marr

Abraham Wurts Deborah Wixon

Cornelius Johnson Mary Johnson

Ira Sherman Sarah Johnson

John Marr Phebe Sherman

Asa Wixon . Ruth Wixon

Joel Wixon Elizabeth Wixon

Peter Johnson
Casper Kile,

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

Immediately after the meeting of the 1st September,
wliere sixteen were separated, we called a meeting of
those who had been separated and it was then and there
universally agreed to by all present that we should con-
tinue to hold meetings for public worship as usual con-
cluding patiently to wait the event of Providence. 2nd.
Agreed to hold meeting on the next day at Mr. John
Wurts's. 3rd. Agreed to hold a meeting for the trans-
action of our business on the 4th Saturday in this
month at the school house by Mr. Boyle's.

Lord's Day, 2nd Sept. Elizabeth Wixon declared her-
self to be one with us, although not yet separated from
Markham Church. R. Wixon."

A week later a committee was appointed to seek coun-
sel from the Church in Whitby.

On Sept. 22nd, the congregation met and "Heard
the report of the brethren who were sent to Whitby
who stated that the petition was refused and that indi-
viduals among them had advised to relinquish holding
meetings of any kind at present as our situation was
considered to be rather precarious. But after mature
consideration of the matter it was unanimously agreed
to be expedient to continue to hold our meetings as
formerly agreed upon."

On October 27th, 1821, a meeting was -held at Joshua
Wixon's in Pickering, of which the following minutes
are recorded : —

1st. Opened meeting by singing and prayer.

2nd. Chose Br. R. Wixon moderator for the day.

3rd. Proceeded to exhort and comfort each other by
the word of truth.

4th. Took into consideration whether it is expedient

THE BAPTIST CHURCH

for us to organize ourselves under the title of a church.
Whereupon it was unanimously agreed to by all present
that we should unite under the title of the first Baptist
Church of Christ in Pickering.

5th. Left it as a matter of contemplation who shall
be appointed to serve us as deacons.

The first official appointments were made on January
36tli, 1822, when the following minute is recorded :-t-

"Voted in Joshua Wixon and Randall Wixon to serve
us in the office of Elders.

"Voted that Bros. Cornelius Johnson and Joel Wixon
shall serve us in the office of Deacons."

The following are the minutes of a meeting held on
March 23rd, 1822.

1st. Opened meeting hy singing and prayer.

2nd. Proceeded to free our minds.

3rd. Took into consideration whether it is a Scrip-
tural practice to appoint a moderator in church meetings
or not. Left it as a reference.

4th. Br. Joshua Wixon requested a recommend cer-
tifying our consent for him to administer baptism on
Queen Street or elsewhere if requested. Which was
granted.

5th. Br. Joel Wixon read a part of the 13th chap-
ter of John, respecting the wat-hing of each other's
feet, which was left as a reference.

6th. Dismissed by prayer.

R. Wixon, Clerh.

In the minutes of the next meeting the following
entry is found: —

"Took into consideration the reference for washing
one another's feet and agreed to practise washing one

PAST YEAES IN PICKERING

another's feet en each day previous to Communion or
the Lord's Supper and that the women ouglit to wash
one another's feet."

There is little record for the twenty years following,
but it is known that services were held fairly regularly.
The congregation in Dickering seem to have been
closely related to two other little groups of believers,
one on the ninth Concession of Whitchurch, and the
other in Uxbridge. Meetings in each of these places
are recorded as meetings of the one congregation. In
Pickering, the services were commonly held, in Joshua
Wixon's house in the seventh Concession.

During the forties there seems to have been increased
activity and progress. Many baptisms on profession of
faith are recorded and the church began to grow, not
only in numbers, but in influence. On April 35th, 1847,
the following minute is recorded : —

"The church met at the school house on the seventh
Concession of Pickering, and after singing and prayer
and a sermon preached by Elder Wixon, Mr. Stephen
Mantle and Mr. David Evans were appointed to take
part of the pastoral care in the church and to act as
Elders on all occasions when it may be required."

"Pickering, March the 9th, 1850,—

At a church meeting held at the house of Joseph
Wixon, appointed for the purpose of procuring a site
for a meeting house for this society, it was agreed to
purchase three-quarters of an acre of land at £7 10s.
from Joseph Wixon, junr., on lot number eighteen in the
ninth concession of Pickering, and build a plank house
thereon 28 feet in width by 34 in length, and Brothers
Anthony Avery, David Evans and Francis Derusha

THE BAPTIST CHURCH

were appointed trustees to hold the deed of said land.
Brothers Anthony Avery, Joseph Wixon junr. and Wil-
liam Norton were also appointed trustees to circulate
subscriptions and superintend the building of said house.

On the 14th of December, 1850, Sister Elizabeth
Wixon departed this life and on the 31st of the same
month Elder Wixon also died."

It would seem that the building of the church was
not complete till the fall of 1851. The first recorded
meeting is entered as follows : —

"November 29th, 1851. At a church meeting held
at the Baptist church on the ninth concession of Pick-
ering, after singing and prayer and several testifica-
tions of faith, &c., Sister Charlotte Cooke made a re-
quest to join the church and was admitted, having been
previously baptised.

"On the 27th of December, 1856, the church met
at the chapel in Claremont (here first mentioned),
according to notice for the purpose of transacting such
business as might come before said church tending to
the best interests of Zion among them.

"Previous to the commencement of business there was
a short conference. Prayer was then offered by brother
George P. Frise. It was then moved and seconded that
Brother A. Avery do act as moderator and Brother G.
P. Frise as clerk.

"Liberty was then given to any one who felt desirous
to unite with the church to make their request. Accord-
ingly William Pugh presented himself, who after due
deliberation of the members by questioning him and
being moved and seconded was unanimously received.

PAST YEARS IN PICKEEING

It was then moved and seconded that Brother John
Bundy do act as treasurer. Carried unanimously.

"After a long consultation it was moved and seconded
that a requisition be got up to join the Haldimand asso-
ciation on its next meeting, to be on the fourth Friday
in June, 1857, with the regular Baptist church in Haldi-
mand. Carried unanimously.

"It was then moved and seconded that Brothers Philip
Wliite and Edward Morgan be a committee to visit dif-
ferent members in the township of Uxbridge. Also that
Brothers George Hopkins and Edward Pugh do visit
the different members in Pickering. This also was
carried.'^

During the early sixties the need for a new chapel
became apparent and at a meeting held June 13th, 1864,
it was "moved by Joseph Wixon, Jr., that Isaac P. John-
son, Edward Pugh, Alexander Morgan, John Barry and
Joseph Wixon, Jr., be and are hereby appointed a Com-
mittee to build a meeting house in the village of Claro-
mont, for the use of the Baptist denomination. Car-
ried."

Two years later the church, which still is used by
the congregation in Claremont, was completed and on
Oct. 15th, 1866, the following minute is entered.
"Moved by Br. George Bundy, seconded by Br. Edward
Pugh, that the new chapel be opened for public worship
on Lord's Day the 28th inst., and that Dr. Caldecott,
Elder Hoyes and Joseph Ring be invited to take part
in the opening exercises.

Whitevale and Green River Baptist Churches.

The following entry in the record of the Claremont
Baptist church is the primary reference to the Bap-

THE BAPTIST CHURCH

tist cause in the village of Whitevale (then known as

Major or Majorville) :

"Lord's Day, September 4th, 1864.

This day after the usual morning service the pastor
requested the members to remain and Deacon W. H.
Powell presented a requisition from eight of the brothers
and sisters of the church, viz., Brs. MaBhew Gold, Don-
ald McPhee, George Strachan, and Deacon Hugh Pugh
and sisters Elizabeth Ann Gold, Katharine McPhee,
Christina Strachan and Elizabeth Pugh, asking for let-
ters of Dismission from this church for the purpose of
organizing a church in the village of Major.

It was then moved by Deacon W. H. Powell and
seconded by Br. George Astridge that letters of dismis-
sion be granted to the above named brothers and sisters.
Carried.

Joseph Wixon^ jr.

Church Clerk."

On the 24th of the same month a meeting was held
in the temperance hall in Whitevale for the purpose
of organizing. David Hunter was chairman and Joseph
Wilson secretary. The first deacons of the church were
George Strachan and Donald McPhee. There were asso-
ciated with the church in early days Eev. Messrs. Gold,
Lacey, and Sherman, a student. But the first regular
pastor was Eev. J. B. Moore.

For a time the services were held in the ball, but in
1868 preparations were made for building a church.
The building was completed and dedicated in February,
1870. Later pastors were Elder Finch, Eev's. B. Bos-
worth, W. T. Tapscott and H. A. McConnell.

PAST YEARS m PICKERING

At Green River Baptist services were occasionally
held as early as the later thirties'. The Vardons, Tur-
ners and other New Brunswick families which settled
in the neighborhood were loyal Baptists, and as soon
as possible secured the services of such ministers as were
available. The first services were held in the School
house on the corner of the Vardon farm. One of the
earliest who ministered to them was Rev. Thomas Gos-
tick, who, commencing with the year 1843, seems to have
been for a time their regular pastor. In 1847, Thomas
L. Davidson, a student of the Canada Baptist College,
Montreal, was called and soon after ordained. In that
year also a chapel was erected on Brunswick Hill, and
opened and dedicated on May 28th, 1848. The deacons
at this time were William Winter, W. B. Clark and
Robert Vardon.

Among those who served the church from this time
were Elders Purrett, Anderson, McClellan, Tapscott,
Finch, McConnell, Kayes, and Cross.

In 1888 a new church was built in the village of
Green River. In later years the church has been asso-
ciated with that in Whitevale under the following pas-
tors : Rev's. William Freed, Hugh Shaw, M, E. Siple, E.
J. McEwen, A. C. Baker, R. E. Sales, Judson Mcin-
tosh, G. C. Lamont and John Trickey.
The Baptist Church on the Seventh Concession —
{Gostich's).

The following account of the Baptist Church on the
seventh Concession is taken largely by quotation from
the "Record" kept by Mr. Tracy, Mr. Gostick, Mr.
Stokes and others connected with the church from its
organization.

THE BAPTIST CHURCH

"In the years 1831, 1832 and 1833, a few Christian
families emigrated from England to the Province of
Upper Canada, North America, and located themselves
on Lots number twenty-four on the seventh Concession,
twenty-four and twenty-five on the eighth Concession,
and twenty-five on the ninth Concession in the township
of Pickering and finding themselves destitute (in a
great measure) of the means of grace to which they had
been accustomed to attend in their native land, unani-
mously resolved to make some effort, in order to provide
some place contiguous to their respective dwellings, in
which to meet for Divine worship; and unable through
their straitened circumstances to accomplish their
wishes, they made known their situation to some Chris-
tian friends in England, who furnished them with the
sum of fifteen pounds to assist them in their desired
object ; that sum having been given by friends and rela-
tives more immediately connected with Mr. William
Tracy, and sent to him, he immediately purchased a
piece of ground and erected thereon a building, which
building and ground belonging thereto has been by him
vested in the hands of Trustees in the manner and for
the purposes expressed in the deed."

The deed which is inserted in the *'Eecord" describes
the land as "One acre of ground, more or less, forming
the northwest corner of lot number twenty-four in the
seventh Concession of Pickering."

The deed specifies further that the "School room or
meeting house be appropriated as a place of meeting for
Divine Worship, viz. : Preaching the Gospel, reading the
Scriptures, Prayer, and singing the Praises of the Most
High God. And also for the Religious Instruction and
7 97

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

Moral Improvement of Children or Adults in the Neigh-
borhood. And in pursuance of these Objects the Trus-
tees are to feel themselves bound to avail themselves
of the assistance of such well-disposed and pious per-
sons as may by Divine Providence be placed within their
reach, especially those who are humbly and faithfully
devoted to the solemn work of preaching the Doctrines
and precepts of the Gospel of Christ, by which is meant,
those essential and important truths in which the vener-
able Reformers and Puritans, as Wickliffe, Luther, Cal-
vin, Cranmer, Owen and Goodwin were agreed, to the
exclusion of Socinian, Antinomian and Popish errors.
This limitation being introduced as much as possible,
to prevent the exhibition of the anomaly mentioned by
our blessed Lord of a House divided against itself, and
not with any sectarian motive. The trustees will there-
fore hail with pleasure the meeting together of Chris-
tians or Preachers of different denominations, whether
Independents or Baptists, Presbyterians or Evangelical
members of the established Churches of England or
Scotland. But the Trustees will not pledge themselves
to permit meetings to be held in the said School Room
or Meeting House for the discussion of Political or
Speculative questions, or subjects not revealed in the
Holy Scriptures."

The Trustees to whom this property was given in
charge were William Tracy, Sr., Thomas Gostick, Sr.,
Charles! Vincent, William Winter, George Stokes, Sam-
uel Palmer, William Tracy, Thomas Gostick, Jr.,
Thomas Elijah Tracy, Alfred Gostick and John Gos-
tick, "all of whom are residing on the seventh, eighth
and ninth Concessions of Pickering."

THE BAPTIST CHUECH

"On Lord's Day, August 16th, 1835, the before-men-
tioned place of worship was opened, on which occasion
Mr. Thomas Gostick, Senior, one of the friends and
Trustees, preached two discourses, that in the morning
from the Second Book of Chronicles, sixth chapter and
part of the eighteenth verse. — "But will God in very
deed dwell with men on the earth?" and that in the
afternoon from Psalm, the hundred and Thirty Second,
and sixth verse : — "Lo, we have heard of it at Ephratah ;
we found it in the fields of the wood."

It would seem that Mr. Gostick was ordinarily the
preacher at the services held in this meeting house.
But occasionally others conducted the services. At a
meeting of the trustees held on Jan. 15th, 1837, there
is a note of a resolution asking Mr. Joshua Wixon to
preach next Sabbath "in the absence of T. G."
August 6th, 1837.—

This day we commenced our monthly Prayer
Meeting in order to unite as nearly as possible with our
Dear Christian Friends in England, who always meet
on the first Monday in the month for the same object,
viz. : To unite in earnest prayer for the Divine Blessing
to attend the Missionary Labors and the outpouring of
the Holy Spirit on the whole Church of God and the
consequent Renovation of the World. 2 o'clock after-
noon.

The following statement regarding their doctrine was
drawn up in 1851 and bears the names of Thomas Gos-
tick, Senior, and Alfred Tracy, Deacon.

1st. We acknowledge no authority in matters of
Eeligion but that of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy
Scriptures.

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

2nd. Without arrogating to ourselves the exclusive
appellations Particular or Regular we believe the
Church mentioned in the New Testament consisted of
those only who had been baptized on a personal confes-
sion of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord
Jesus Christ.

3rd. That though a cordial agreement on the siubject
of Baptism may be necessary to the enjoyment of the
privileges of church fellow^iip, yet all fit subjects for
Baptism are eligible to Christian Communion at the
table of the Lord.

4th. We fear we should greatly infringe on the prin-
ciple of Christian love were we to repel from occa-
sional communion with us any members of a Christian
Church with whose walk and standing in other respects
we as a church are satisfied.

"This man receiveth sinners and eateth with them."

The services in this Church continued to be held more
or less regularly for thirty-five years, though practically
no written record remains of the work of the passing
years. Perhaps nothing better indicates the spirit and
character of the work than the following sentences from
a brief autobiographical sketch written by Rev. Thomas
Gostick.

"God that separated me from my mother's womb and
called me by His grace, was the God of my parents, and
though poor in this world they were rich in faith and
heirs of the kingdom of God. Our family name, I ap-
prehend, has, like many others, undergone a change by
the loss of the w from the last syllable, which being
added makes Gostwick. ... My parents at the time
of my birth, March 14:th, 1789, lived in the village of

100

THE BAPTIST CHURCH

Sharbrook, a few miles from the town of Bedford, where
that good old pilgrim Bunyar lodged in hisi progress
to the Celestial city. When about three years old my
parents being obliged to go to London to get employ-
ment left me in the care of a relative at Bedford. At
five years old I was brought to London. . . I became a
scholar in the Methodist Sunday school at Hoxton.
Looking back on my position in this Sunday School I
must ever regard it as an important link in life's event-
ful chain, and feel some regret that I should have been
removed from it so early and so abruptly. The occa-
sion of this removal may supply a useful hint. The
views of my parents were decidedly Calvinistic. They
delighted to hear the gospel as it was preached at White-
field's Tabernacle. They were moved exceedingly on
one occasion when we informed them that it was an
indispensable rule in the Sunday School that we should
all learn the Church Catechism, and still more so when
on another occasion we informed them that one of our
teachers had warned us in a very grave tone to keep
away from the tabernacle, and avoid all such people.
In the Tabernacle I was privileged to attend the
ministry of the late John Hyatt, who proved to me
both a Boanerges and a Barnabas — a son of thunder and
a son of consolation. It was by a slow and painful
process that I was led to cherish -a hope of mercy. Sanc-
tuary seasons were often sweet and refreshing and under
the ministry of Mr. Hyatt my soul received conceptions
of a most searching and alarming, and also of a most
consoling, character."

The following sentences from a letter written by his
brother continue the narrative.

101

PAST YEARS IN" PICKERING

"While he was quite young he gave himself to the
work of the Lord, and he early joined the London Itin-
erant Society, which used to send out laborers on the
Lord's day to preach the gospel and teach and establish
Sunday Schools in the suburban villages of London.
I remember that my brother used to go on alternate
Sundays to Wimbleton Common in the county of Sur-
rey. He afterwards became connected with the Taber-
nacle Sunday School and was a teacher there till he
removed to Bow."

Rev. Samuel Tapscott, who succeeded him in the
charge in Pickering, continues: —

Being satisfied that believer's immersion was the
only Scriptural baptism, he united with the church at
Bow, being baptised November 4th, 1814. His connec-
tion with this church, under the pastoral care of the
gifted Dr. ISTewman, appears to have been very happy
both to himself and his pastor. In a letter addressed to
him in 1830, Dr. Newman writes, "Your letter shows
that you are alive in the best sense of the word. Yon
are always mentioned here with esteem and affection."

In 1832, Mr. Gostick and family came to this country
and settled in the Township of Pickering. . . .
Soon after he came he formed an acquaintance with
the late Elder William Marsh, a man beloved as widely
as he was known. Jesus had owned the labors of this
good man in the formation of two churches in the
Township of Wliitby, one in the front and the other in
the Sixth Concession, and connected with the latter a
branch in the Township of Markham. To this branch
Mr. Gostick began to preach shortly after his settlement
in Pickering, and continued to do so for some seven or

102

THE BAPTIST CHUECH

eight years till a church was formed in his own neigh-
borhood.

His labors now became confined to the township in
which he lived — preaching one part of the day in the
front of the Sixth Concession and the other in the rear
of the Seventh. After a time a separation having taken
place the stated ministrations of Mr. Gostick were de-
voted to the Church meeting on the Seventh Concession.
To this little band of Christian friends he took much
pleasure in preaching the unsearchable riches of Christ.
His little flock in return were greatly attached to him.

Before the place was fixed on for holding the meet-
ing of the Union for 1858, Mr. Gostick was very
desirous that it should be held at his place. The
Executive Committee readily complied with his request.
The services were all interesting and impressive, more
especially the closing service. Before the assembly was
dismissed Mr. Gostick rose, — his frame trembled, his
lips quivered, — his emotions could not at once find
utterance. At length he said: "1 have come to the
margin of the stream, the stream that has no bridge.
Before another of your annual meetings I shall have
crossed it. I regard your visit, dear and honored
brethren, like the visit of the shining ones in ' Pilgrim's
Progress ' to poor Eeady-to-halt to strengthen and
encourage me to go and pass over. Farewell, dear
brethren, for ever." The president took him by the
hand, and, availing himself of the words of a great
poet, replied in solemn tone, " Fare thee well, and if
forever, still forever, fare thee well." The scene was
deeply affecting, and how vividly it has been recalled

103

PAST YEARS IN PIOKERING

to mind now that the event which was then anticipated
has been realized.

Mr. Gostick's health and strength for several years
have been in a declining state, yet, with few exceptions,
he has been able to discharge the duties of his office.
On Saturday, March 27th, 1859, he walked to see Mr.
Frise, of Claremont. He preached as usual on the
Lord's Day, and the day following the Master he had
served so long called him home.

Mr, Gostick was happy in the selection of a com-
panion for life. His comfort, his usefulness; yea, the
long continuance of his life are due under God to her
affection and devotedness. He was favored also, not
only in having an affectionate and dutiful family, but
also in having the pleasure of receiving them all in the
Church, and of seeing them united to pious compan-
ions."

The following entries in the Claremont records of
the year 1870 describe the reception of the Seventh Con-
cession congregation as an integral part of the Clare-
mont Baptist congrega/tion :

"January 30th, 1870.

This day after the morning service the members were
requested to remain when the pastor read the following
paper :

To THE Baptist Church, Claremont.

Christian Friends, —

We, the undersigned members of the Baptist Church,
Seventh Concession, being destitute of a pastor and other
means of grace, and having received from you a cordial
invitation to unite with you in church fellowship, hav-

104

THE BAPTIST CHURCH

ing carefully and, we trust, prayerfully considered the
matter, have concluded, guided, we hope, by Divine
Providence, to avail ourselves of those privileges you so
kindly offer us, and may our union prove to our mutual
benefit, and be the means of promoting the cause of our
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in the world.

Thomas Gostick, Hannah Palmer,

Frederick George, Mary George,

S. S. Gostick, Sen., Sarah George,

Sarah Tracy, George Gilman,

Alfred Tracy, Elizabeth Gostick,

Eliza Tracy, Ellen Michell.

It was then moved by Bro. John Barry, and seconded
by Bro. George Bundy, that the above application be
granted. Carried.

Feb. 13th, 1870. This morning after the usual ser-
vice the hand of fellowship was given to the brothers
and sisters received at the last church meeting, and they
were added to the church."

The church in Claremont receiving this accession of
strength, continued to grow and prosper, and during the
last fifty years has been exercising ever wider influence
in the northern half of the township.

The succession of regular pastors seems to have be-
gun with Elder G. P. Frise, who served the church in
1857, and was engaged for the year 1858 at the salary
of $250 and his firewood. Perhaps it is not to be won-
dered at that his resignation was presented at the end
of the term. After a short interval he was succeeded by
Elder Alexander Anderson, who continued till 1863,
when he was followed by Elder Lacey, who remained

105

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

till 1865. The next pastor was Elder Cameron, wlrO re-
mained in charge of the work till 1871. The salary at
this period was $400. Pastor Sherman, who followed,
remained till August, 1873. In November of that year
Pastor Booker, of Drumbo, was called at a salary of
$600 and moving expenses. He was pastor of the
church for nearly ten years, resigning in April, 1883,
and preaching his farewell sermon on July 29th of that
year.

On July 20th, 1884, application was made by Bro.
A. T. Sowerby, then of McMaster Hall, asking the
church to grant him a license to preach. It was moved
by Bro. D. Forsyth, seconded by Bro. W. Watson, and
agreed that license be granted.

On May 15th, 1887, Frederick Tracy applied to the
church for a license to preach. It was moved by Bro.
J. Bundy, seconded by Bro. A. Morgan, and agreed that
license be granted.

Pastor Booker was followed by Rev. James Foster,
and he, toward the close of 1886, by Rev. E. W, Dad-
son, D.D. The later pastors are as follows: J. E.
Trotter, 1889-1891; J. Millard, 1891-1892; A. White,
1892-1900; J. J. Williams, 1900-1903, A. R. Park,
1904-1906; J. A. Grant, 1907, till the present time.

106

CHAPTER XIII.

PICKERING METHODISM.

The history of Wesleyan Methodism in Pickering
dates back to the year 1817. Before that time the
whole district had been included in "Smith's Creek
Circuit/' (named from Smith's Creek in the township
of Hope). This circuit is said to have "comprehended
a part of Prince Edward District with the Belleville
Country and all the road from the Trent to the border
of the Yonge street Circuit." In 1817, the western part
of this circuit was established or "set off" as the Duf-
fm's Creek Circuit, with a membership of 201 and
Rev. James Jackson as first Superintendent. Practically
nothing is known of his work, however, and it would
seem that after a separate existence of only two years
the Buffings Creek Circuit was rq-united with the
Smith's Creek Circuit and remained a part of it till
the "setting off" of Whitby circuit in 1826.

Little record is to be found even of the period from
this time till the early fifties when Pickering is found as
a part of the Markham circuit which was organized in
1843. Two men whose labors in the township in this
period are still spoken of are Rev. John Gundy, 1845-6,
and Rev. David Clappison, 1846-7. The following is
the succession from 1850 — Rev. Peter Kerr, 1850-1-2,
Rev. John Law, 1853-4, Rev. Lewis Warner, 1860-1-2,

107

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

Rev. William McFadden and Alfred McCann, 1863-4,
Rev, John K Lake and Edward Morrow, 1865.

The Pickering Circuit in 1865 embraced the following
points: Duffin's Creek, Kinsale, Salem, Greenwood,
Clarcmont, Mount Pleasant, Brougham. Jackson's and
Glensharred (Glen Sharrard, now Glen Major). With
Messrs. Lake and Morrow were associated in the work of
the circuit Messrs. Law, Darlington, Gamble, Eldon,
Bunting, Lock, Switzer and Blow. Mr. Bunting whose
name appears in this list came to Pickering in. 1851
and served from the earliest years of his residence with
much acceptance as a local preacher. To him and the
others in the list Methodism owes much for their faithful
and arduous labors in the days of the laying of foun-
dations.

The first Methodist Church in Pickering village, a
frame building, stood in what is now the old cemetery,
at the northwest corner of the village. It was built in
the forties and did good service till it was succeeded
by the present brick structure in the centre of the
village.

The Methodist church at Salem was built in the year
1849, and opened on the last day of May in that year.
There were associated with its building "Squire" Clark,
William Gibson, John Sadler and William Gee. It was
a frame building, but later (1880) wasi remodelled and
bricked.

The first Wesleyan Methodist services in Claremont
were held in a large room fitted up for public meetings,
over Forfar's planing mill and factory, which stood on
the lot occupied later by a foundry and now owned by
Mr. R. W. Ward. The first church, a brick building,

108

BRERETON BUNTING

PICKEKIN<^ METHODISM

was erected in 1863, on the lot north of Mr. Ira Powell's
shop. It was used by the united congregations after the
union for some years. After the erection of the present
Methodic church in 1889, the old building was used
for a time by the Ancient Order of United Workmen as
a hall, but was eventually torn down and the bricks
used elsewhere.

The Methodist church in Brougham was built in
1869, a frame building which was afterward bricked.

The succession of ministers on the Pickering circuit
after 1865 is as follows : Henry Eeid and Albert C. Wil-
son, 1866-7, Thomas Stobbs 1868-9-70, Newton Hill
1868, William Walsh 1869-70, George H. Cornish 1871-
2-3, Joseph Deacon 1872, Andrew Ross 1872-3.

The present Pickering village Methodist church was
dedicated in May 1880, when Eev. John Pickering was
pastor. The later succession of ministers is as follows,
John Pickering till 1884, W. G. Howson 1884-5, H.
Matthews 1886, G. M. Browne 1887-8, E. Barass, D.D.,
1889-90, J. T. Caldwell, M. A., D.D., 1891-3, S. C.
Philp, Jr., 1894-6, James Thom 1897-8, Osborne Lam-
bly, M.A., D.D., 1899, A. C. Wilson 190.0-2, James E.
Moore 1903-5, J. C. Bell 1906-8, J. A. McCamus
1909, to the present time.

Bethel and Claremont,

Primitive Methodism on the Ninth Concession dates
back to the early forties. In 1842 Rev. William Jolley
was appointed to labor as a missionary in Pickering
and Whitby. He found in thisi neighborhood a little
group of Methodists, who were being ministered to in
an informal way by Robert Middleton, who lived on the

109

PAST YEARS IN PICKEEING

rear of the seventh Concession. They were the nucleus
of the congregation which afterwards came into being
there.

Mr. Jolley was one of the notable pioneers of Primi-
tive Methodism in the township. He was a Yorkshire-
man, born in 1789. In early life he was a druggist by
profession, but when thirty-four years of age he gave
up his business and became a travelling preacher. About
the year 1837, he came to Canada and labored in To-
ronto, in Brampton, in Brantford and in Whitby and
Pickering.

Mrs. R. P. Hopper in "Old-time Primitive Metho-
dism" gives the following account of his opening of the
work at Bethel on the 9th.

"On October 6th, 1843, he preached in the log school
house on the north-east corner of the ninth concession
and the Bethel side-road. He announced that there
would be revival services during the week, that there
would be good congregations and souls saved. At the
conclusion of the service he stood up and gave three
unearthly whoops so suddenly that the people started
from their seats in startled surprise. The next day he
mentioned to a friend that there would be a good turn-
out, they would come from far and near to hear the
crazy man preach. His words were verified, and a
very successful meeting was held. Among the first
members were Mr. and Mrs!. Isaac Linton, Mr. and
Mrs. Richard Ward, Mr. and Mrs. John Collins, Mr.
and Mrs. Isaac Middleton, Robert Middleton and family,
Mr. and Mrs. Shepherd and others. The school-house
not being very comfortable, they held the meetings

110

PICKEEING METHODISM

in Mr. Linton's farm kitclien. Isaac Middleton's name
was put upon the plan as an exhorter. Eobert Middle-
ton was' local preacher and class-leader."

Mr. Jolley was superannuated in 1844, but to the close
of his life he was active in the service of the cause
to which his life was devoted. He entered into rest
in a good old age on June 19th, 1870.

Among those who preached at Bethel in the early
years of its organization, was Eev. William Gledhill.
It is related of him that at a field meeting held about
185^0 he was in poor health and yet was anxious to
preach. Having begun he forgot all about hisi weakness
and in his enthusiasm leaped from the floor shouting
again and again: "I've got the devil under my feet,
I've got the devil under my feet." "Glory, Glory, Glory,"
shouted Daddy Pointon, a local preacher of high repute,
in a voice that made everybody jump. Those were the
days of unrestrained exuberance and warmth of religious
feeling and far removed from our modern reticence
and coldness. Mr. Gledhill after a strenuous life of
service on many circuits in Canada West returned in
the evening of his life to old England.

The old school house was superseded in 1851 by the
Bethel Primitive Methodist Church, a building which
did good service till the time of the union of the Metho-
dist bodies, and stood till about two years ago, when it
was taken down. Those were years of stirring activity
among 'Primitive Methodists. Camp-meetings, "field
meetings, protracted meetings were frequently held and
preaching appointments were multiplied. At this time
another chapel stood on the corner of the Beverley farm

111

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

on the Ninth Concession, west of Claremont, (Lot 32).
This chapel as well as the Bethel one, had the old-fash-
ioned arrangement of the door on the side of the audi-
torium and the seats ascending from the front to the
back.

In 1861, these two churches with a number of
preaching appointments associated were erected into
the Pickering Branch of the Markham Circuit, and
though there was change in, the number and arrange-
ment of stations the Pickering Branch maintained an
honorable existence till the time of the union.

For a time the Branch wasi served by young men who
each remained just one year. The first was Mr. Haigh,
in 1861. During this year J. Collins was brought "on
the plan" as a local preacher, and Francis Bowes as
an exhorter. Mr. Haigh, with Mr. Nattress, who was
Superintendent of the Markham Circuit, conducted very
successful meetings at Brown's Corners (Audley), as a
result of which much good was done, and later the
Audley appointment came into being.

The next year, 1862-3, G. F. Lee was the Branch
minister. During that winter a singing school was
permitted to be conducted in the chapel at Bethel on
three conditions, 1st, that it find its own light and fire,
2nd, that the chapel be kept clean, and 3rd, that good
order be kept. For 1863-4, Mr. Codville was the min-
ister. In this year Parker Bell was raisied to the status
of a local preacher and James Collins was recommended
to Conference "as a fit and proper person to go out and
travil in the ministry." The next in charge was Mr.
Clarke, 1864-5. During this period negotiations were

112

PICKERING METHODISM

in progress for selling the church on the Beverley place
with a view to erecting one in the village. Mr. Clarke
was followed by Mr, Roadhouse, 1865-6. At this time
services were held for a short period in a house which
stood between the Hamilton residence and the stone
store on the corner in Claremont. The next minister
was Mr. Edward Whitworth, 1866-7. In this year the
Primitive Methodist church in Claremont was built. It
was a frame building and did duty till the union. Being
sold, it was afterwards! brickclad and is now used by Mr.
Nicholas Burton as residence and shop. There fol-
lowed in succession the following ministers : G. F. Gil-
pin, 1867-8, C. E. Stafford, 1868-9, J. W. Walker,
1869-70, E. Middleton, 1870-1, J. W. Robinson, 1871-2.
In January of the latter year the following were ap-
pointed trustees for a parsonage to be built and also to
constitute the building committee : T. Appleby, A. Pil-
key, Thomas Pugh, George Hopkins, C. Stauffer and
R. Ward. The parsonage was built during the year
and occupied by Rev. W. C. Allen, the first married
man to be put in charge of the Branch. This became
the parsonage of the united church after the union
and is still so used.

During this period three men, Isaac Middleton,
Thomas Appleby and F. Burgess, were prominent in the
service of the church as local preachers. Mr. Appleby
is still living in the neighborhood of Wroxeter and Mr.
Burgess lives in Stouffville. Their work like that of
Mr. Bunting, Mr. Gamble and others) in connection
with the other branches of Methodism, was often ar-
duous and had little reward other than the eonscious-

113

PAST Tears m Pickering

ness of service rendered and duty done. In spite of
lack of professional training, as' a class they were men
who, by patient reading, faithful use of the talents with,
which they were endowed, and above all by deep per-
sonal piety and consecration, made themselves effective-^
and edifying preachers of the truth.

In 1875, Mr. Allen was succeeded by Rev. Robert
McKee, who spent four years in this charge, being fcl-
lowed in 1879, by Rev. James Ferguson, who remained
two years. The last pastor of the Branch before the
union of 1884 was Rev. Paul Flint, whose pastorate
extended over the years 1881-4.

After the union the Bethel chapel was closed and the
Claremont congregation placed with that of Glasgow
in the township of Uxbridge, which had previously
formed part of an Episcopal Methodist circuit.

The pastors of this circuit since that time have been
the following: Charles A. Simpson 1884-6, Charles J.
Dobson 1887-9, James M. Simpson 1890-2, Joseph E.
Sanderson 1893, George Browne 1894-5, Thomas W.
Leggott 1896-8, W. H. Adams 1899-02, J. W. Wilkin-
son 1903, J. W. Totten 1905-8, R. Duke 1908, to the
present time.

Whitevale.

The first Methodist church in the vicinity of White-
vale was erected in the year 1854 on the rear of Lot
28, Con. 4, where the cemetery now is. Mr. W. F. Burton
has still in his possession a stone from its walls, on
which is this inscription :

CANADIAN METHODIST CHAPEL.

Erected A.D. 1854.
T. P. White, Builder.

114

PICKEEING METHODISM

The neighborhood had, however, enjoyed the minis-
trations of Methodist ministers or local preachers from
the early thirties, when Rev. Thomas Fawcett of the
Yonge street circuit held siervices in private houses.
Sinclair Holden, a druggist of Markham village, and
William Palmer, a Devonshire man, served as local
preachers. Later ministers were Eev. Ezra Proctor,
Rev. Mr. Corson, Rev. John Law (1854), Rev. Mr. Ely,
Rev. Mr. Graham and Dr. Fowler. Among others who
served on the Markham circuit was John Potts (after-
wards Rev. Dr. Potts). Later there were Rev. Messrs.
Betts, Ferguson 1872-4, and -Campbell 1874-7. With
the two latter Mr. I. N". Robinson served as assistant.
He was followed by Mr. Liddy. Rev. A. C. Wilson, Rev.
John Pickering and Rev. J. W. Totten also served the
Markham circuit. In 1884, Rev. S. C. Philp and W.
A. V. Pattison were in charge and in this year the
present Whitevale Church was erected

In the year 1888, the new circuit of Whitevale was
established. Whitevale up to this time had been in
connection with the Markham circuit. The new circuit
had three appointments, Whitevale, Locust Hill and
Ninth line, Markham. In 1904, a re-arrangement was
made by which the Cherrywood appointment which had
belonged to the Scarboro circuit was joined to White-
vale and the Ninth Line Markham was dropped. From
1881 Cherrywood had been served by the following
ministers: H. C. Ross/ 1881, J. R. Real 1882, J. W.
Puffer 1883, J. T. Caldwell 1884, M. B. Conron 1885-6,
J. J. Redditt 1887-9, G. W. Stevenson 1893-5, John
Vickery 1896-9, R. E. Toye 1900-4.

The ministers of the Whitevale circuit since its or-

115

PAST YEARS IN PICKEEING

ganization are as follows: W. Wilkinson 1885-8, J. R.
Real 1888-90, J. W. Cameron 1890-3, W. A. Bunner
part of 1893, G. W. Pickett 1893-5, J. H. Oke 1895-8,
Peter Campbell 1898-1900, Thomas Scott 1900-1,
Thomas Legate 1901-4, C. W. Reynolds 1904-8, A. B.
Hames 1908, to the present time.

In 1893 the Greenwood circuit was establislhed with
six appointments — Audley, Kinsale, Brougham, Glen
Major, Mount Zion and Greenwood. A later arrange-
ment leaves the circuit with four appointments,
Brougham, Kinsale, Mount Zion and Greenwood. At
this time Audley was joined with Pickering village and
Glen Major dropped. The later ministers of this charge
are as follows: Rev. D. Williams 1900-2, Rev. E. A.
Tonkin 1902-6, Rev. J. E. Robeson 1906-8, Rev. S. T.
Tucker 1908, to the present time.

116

CHAPTER XIV.
BROUGHAM AND THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH.

The village of Brougham, our municipal metropolis,
is said to have begun its march toward urban dimen-
sions with two log shanties as early as the year 1822.
There were settlers in the neighborhood considerably
before this, however; Thomas Hubbard having come in
about the opening of the century, and Joshua Wixon
having located some distance north even earlier than
that. No very extensive settlement was made till the
period of the thirties.

In 1832 Henry Howell and his family emigrated
from Ireland and settled on Lot 15, Con. 5. Saw-
milling, distilling and mercantile operation were car-
ried on by this family in the years following on what
is now known as Spring Creek. The first post office wag
situated there. It was opened in 1836 with Nicholas
Howell as first postmaster, being later moved to the
farm north of the Corners, and Eichard Taun being
appointed postmaster.

In 1835 the first store was opened by William Bent-
ley, and the place was known for a time as Bentley's
Corners, but Brougham, the name given by the
Howells, necessarily became the permanent one with
the removal of the post office to that centre.

The fifties were for Brougham an era of great activity

117

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

and progress. In 1850 the Pickering Agricultural
Society was organized, and its shows were often held in
Brougham till, in 1866, grounds were purchased and
buildings erected there, when the Brougham Fair be-
came an annual event of the first importance. They
continued to be held till the year 1889.

A division of the Sons of Temperance was organized
in the village April 15th, 1850, its charter members
being Casper Willson, Calvin Sharrard, W. C. Proctor,
Jos. Warner, J. L. Bentley, Asher Wilson, Robert
Brown, Jos. Eade, Moses Gamble, W. Bentley, Charles
Major, Henry Barnum, David Matthews, William Wil-
son, David Crawford, William Sharrard, Jacob Fike,
Joseph Crawford and Elijah S. Wilson. This division
has been maintained in continuous existence ever since,
and has had among its members many of the members
of the leading families of the district. It has been an
important factor in the temperance progress of the
township, and not less in the promotion of social fellow-
ship and literary and musical enjoyment. Their first
hall, a frame building costing about $1,000, was erected
in ISSSf, to be succeeded later by a substantial brick
structure, which is still in use. The division had twice
the honor of having a member appointed to office in the
National Division of America. The men thus honored
were G. B. Smith and Sylvanus Sharrard.

As successor to the earlier sawmills, a steam saw and
planing mill was erected in 1858, but was destroyed by
fire in 1867. In the fall of the same year it was rebuilt
with the addition of a tub factory. This continued for
some years to be managed and operated by G. B. Stock.

Another important industry in Brougham during the

118

BEOUGHAM AND THE CHEISTIAN CHUECH

sixties and seventies was the patent medicine factory of
Woodruff, Bentley & Co. They manufactured the "Na-
tional Pills" and 'Tain Eemover" and other medicines
which were largely used. The business was ultimately
amalgamated with that of a large Toronto firm.

An enumeration of the industries of the village,
made in the year 1869, includes the following: Hotels,
C. W. Matthews and' James Cooper ; W. J. Bodell, shoe-
maker; Willard Blandin, harnessmaker ; Eobert Brown,
wagonmaker; J. B. Burk, general merchant; B.
Churchill, basketmaker; H. P. Hand, dry goods and
groceries; E. Lambert and E. Wade, Hiram Nutt and
J. H. Tool, carpenters; Andrew Patterson, tanner;
David Miller, tailor; George Young, butcher; Thomas
Middaugh, blacksmith; S. B. Webb, Sr., and S . B.
Webb, Jr., carriagemakers.

Being in the centre of the township, Brougham will
continue to be the place of meeting of bodies of various
kinds representing the whole township. The temper-
ance alliance held its meetings there during the recent
local option campaigns. The township centennial cele-
bration is this year to be held just east of the village.
The lack of railway facilities, which has been much felt
in recent years, will be largely overcome with the open-
ing of the Canadian Northern line, which passes across
the township south of Brougham.

The Christian Church.

Among the oldest institutions of the village and of
the township is the Christian Church at Brougham.
The following account is taken largely by quotation
from the written records of the congregation :

119

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

A Record of the Chh of Crist in Pickering U p
Canada.

Be it remembered that on the 25 day of July in the
yeair of our Lord 1824 A few Brethren seven in No
met in fellowship meting at the hous of James Sherard
in the town of Pickering.

Elder Asa Morison Present —

The brethren agreed to orginize them selves in a
chh Agring to renounce all diseplins Creeds and in-
vetions of men and to take the script of the old and
new testaments for their only rule of faith and pract
and to receive in to fellowship all that give and evi-
dence of thair adoption in Crist.

Names of Males and Females.

Elijah Sherard,
Thomas Sherard,
Joshua Sherard,
Amos McVeigh,
Andrew Hubbard,
Josheph Marthers,
George Delance,
Joseph Plumb,
Anson Plumb,
Asher Wilson,
Amos Griswould,
Giles Dingman,
Jacob Crawford,
Samuel Plumb,
Daniel More,
Joseph Thorington,
Solomon Sly,

Susannah Wilson,
Content Hubbard,
Elizabeth Major,
Jane Smith,
Jane Allen,
Nancy More,
Jemima Crawford,
Lois Cool,
Deborough Degene,
Margret Anderson,
Sophia Denison,
Narcissa Edey,
Elenor Sanford,
Prudence Plumb,
Elenor Roach,
Angelline Wilson,
Nancy Berry,

120

BEOUGHAM AND THE CHEISTIAN CHUECH

Elutta Scott,
Louisa Cool,
Polly Grisel,
Sarah Sherrard,
Caroline Cool,
Clarissa Crafford,
Aseneth Searles,
Anna Boice,
Kancy Miller.

George Chirchel,
John Allen,
David Crafford,
Jacob Delong,
Moses Allen,
Benjn E. Cool,
Bena yar Eouse,
Thomas Bray,
Hirom Eddy,
George Lor,
Asel Fish,
George Whright,
Augustus Marsan,
Colin Scott,
Hawley Scott,
Cornelus Churchel,
Jestus S'ealey,
William Sharrard,
Eohert Berry.

"We are Christians^ to the exclusion of all the
names of faction and party; but not to the exclusion
of the good of any party.

"The Bible is our rule to the exclusion of all the
creeds, covenants, disciplines and articles of faith ever
prepared by uninspired man and imposed upon the
Church.

"Christian Character is our only test of fellow-
ship and communion to the exclusion of all the shib-
boleths of party and tests of bigotry ever urged upon
the humble followers of Jesus Christ."

"We whose names are attached to this record do

131

PAST YEAES IN PICKEEING

agree to receive and take the Word of God as our Guide
and Eule of Faith and Practice and Christian Char-
acter as the test of Christian Fellowship."

A note added near the end of the book deals with the
beginning, and is evidently from the hand of one of the
pioneers :

" It was in the spring of 1824 that Elder C. Morison
first visited the Township of Pickering, who was the
first of the Christian connection that ever visited these
parts. Great success attended his labors, and on the
25th of July following a Church was organized by him
consisting of seven members. From this time to the
9th of April, 1825, there is no record; however, our
members had increased at this time to about thirty in
excellent union and well engaged, and on the last men-
tioned day Br. J. Plumb was appointed Clerk. Peace and
prosperity attended us in the midst of opposition. Dif-
ferent preachers visited us at different times, which was
a great blessing, particularly Br. T. Mclntyre, through
whose instrumentality the Lord added quite an increase
to our number in 1828. Previous to this time we had
experienced but few difficulties compared with what we
had to encounter afterwards."

" The Eecord " contains notes of the monthly fellow-
ship meetings which were held for many years. Unless
some special complaint or other matter were brought up
the record usually has four items, as follows:

" December 10th, Met in fel — p Meting.

" 2. Meting opend as us — 1.

" 3. tride the Minds found a good fel — p.

" 4. Meting closed as us — ."

1»2

BEOUGHMI AND THE CHEISTIAN CHUECH

Sometimes the clerk found it necessary to record that
when the minds were " Tride " they only " found in
part a fel — p." A too common ground of complaint and
hindrance of fellowship was that of which the following
is an example :

" On the 16th of January, 1828,

" Br. met A. Cording to apintment.

" 2. Chose Br. Asher Wilson Moderator.

" 3. Charge brout Against brother Joseph Marthers
by Joseph Thorington For drinking to much Luker at
Smith's moing bee and using the exsperiment of
tobacco to kepe sober."

Domestic infelicities, too, sometimes were brought be-
fore the Church for adjustment. In the record of a
meeting, held on November 23, 1828, one of the items
reads as follows:

" 6. There come a complaint Against Br. Sly. Sly's
wife states that he took her by the hair of the head and
dragd her out of bed and Shick her and he took the
chair that he sat in and swore by his Maker that he
would nock her down but did not and he turnd her out
of doors and kick her."

It is not to be wondered at that the next item reads :

" 7. The brethren with drew fellowship from Solomon
Sly."

In the month of May, 1837, the following entry is
found :

" Manr Thoreton Absented himself from the ch by
jonen a seek that Call them Selves mormens.

" John Lavens Absented himself from the Church by
joinen the mormens."

123

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

The last entry of this year is —

" September the 23
''Brothern Did not meet in felua ship metin.

" T. C. Sharrard Clark."

Evidently the troublous time of "37 " brought dis-
sension and practical disorganization to the little Chris-
tian congregation. There is no record of any meeting
being held from the date above till April 23rd, 1840,
when the following entry is found :

The following persons met and united in Church
capacity :

Joshua Sharrard, Isaac B. Hubbard,

Joseph Crawford, Jehial Churchill,

Andrew Hubbard, Content Hubbard.

1st. We whose names are hereunto written agree to
take the word of God as our only rule and the name
Christian in preference to all other names ?

2. That a fellowship Meeting be appointed to com-
mence the first Saturday in June, prayer meetings were
kept weekly when no preaching.

Met again the first Saturday in June and heard a
sermon from Benjamin Cook being the first time of his
preaching in the place.

Tried the fellowship of the church and found it to be
with the Father and with His Son and with each other.
After the door was opened for others to unite the follow-
ing united:

Asher Willson, Phebe Sharrard,

John Craig, Adah Pike,

Hiram Woodrough, Anna Bico.

Susan Willson,

124

BROUGHAM AND THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH

On the 17th of December, 1841, Thomas Sharrard
died who was one of the deacons of the church and its
treasurer.

The church met on the first day in January, 1842, for
a fellowship meeting. At that time the church chose
William Bently and Caspar Willson, Deacons.

" Met again on the first Saturday in Sept. 1842 for
fellowship meeting. Those of the church present had
fellowship for each other, but there was a general dis-
satisfaction against the members that do not attend
the meetings. . . . Resolved by vote that each mem-
ber of the church should have his character investi-
gated."

In November, 1843, a " sensure " was brought against
Brother Caspar Willson, " that he had killed a chicken
on S'und'ay that Belonged to Wm. Witter, the hens of
Br. Witter came on Br. Caspar's wheat directly after
being sowed, he demanded him to keep them away and
he did not do it."

" The decision of the church was that he did rong in
killing the chicken on Sunday.

"Br. Caspar said if it greaved his Brethren he would
do so no more."

At a later meeting "the case of Caspar Willson and
Wm. Witter was called and after some conversation both
removed what was rong and settled the difficulty."

At a meeting of the church held at A. Hubbard's,
apparently in December, 1847, "those present agreed
to renew their fellowship upon the following terms, that
is that the ministers of the church be subject to the
church and accountable to it for their behaviour. 2nd.

125

PAST YEARS IN PICKEEING

that the different resolves on church record shall not be
considered binding on the church unless scriptural.
3rd. to renew tlieir fellowship by forgiving the past and
promising to do right for the future and that no past
offence shall be brought up against each other by those
who now renew their fellowship."

On one of the last pages of " The Record " the fol-
lowing note is found :

"Elder J. Tatton commenced his labours in the
winter of 1859. A great revival and large additions
were the result. A large and substantial brick chapel
was erected that year, 36 by 50, with a dome and belfry."

Elder Tatton was one of the best-known and most be-
loved of the pastors of the Christian church. He was a
familiar and friendly man, essentially one of the people,
ready to take a hand in helping with sawing wood or
cradling wheat or any other of the tasks of his parish-
ioners. He lived and died at Brougham, and his re-
mains rest beside the church where he labored. His
death occurred in 1875.

The services of the church have been continued
through later years, though with somewhat diminished
numbers, the neighborhood having suffered as almost
every neighborhood in Ontario has from the drain to
the cities and the great West. Among those who have
served the church during this period were the following :
Rev. John Noble, Rev. Daniel Prosser, Elders Hainer,
Cowle and Ruttan, Rev. Mr. Chidley and Rev. William
Percy,

136

CHAPTER XV.

PICKERING VILLAGE.

Pickering Village is situated just west of the two ad-
jacent points where the Second Concession Line is inter-
sected by the Kingston Eoad and the stream known as
Duffin's Creek. Near this point, or, to be exact, above
the bank on the north side of the Kingston Road near
where the Logan residence now stands, was the location
of the pioneer shanty where lived the traditional
Duffin, a genial King's County Irishman who had
cleared a few acres, but who lived mainly in Indian
fashion from the products of the river and the chase.
The reader must not inquire too minutely as to the time
when he came over from the Green Isle, nor of the dura-
tion of his sojourn. Suffice it that he lived and was
happy. The river was rich in salmon, the forests abun-
dant in wild fowl and deer, and his little domain sup-
plied him with the esculent tubers so dear to the Irish
palate. In his cabin warm welcome and true Irish
hospitality met every chance traveller who came by.
But, alas, one day there came a traveller who knocked
in vain upon the cabin door. Entering at length he
found the cabin empty and there were blood stains on
the rough planks of the floor. What tragedy had oc-
curred he could but conjecture, and from that day
Duffin has been but a name among men. Yet names are

127

PAST YEAES IN PICKEEING

sometimes strangely permanent, and Duffin's Creek not
only remains the permanent designation of the stream,
but was for half a century the common name given to
the village, which afterward came into being, and there
are still to be found in the surrounding neighborhood
some who cling still to their father's habits of speech
and call the village even yet " the Creek."

There was probably nothing worthy of the name of
village till the period of the thirties, but with the com-
pleter settlement of the township and with the grow-
ing importance of the Kingston Eoad, it began to take
form. By the year 1850 a very considerable business
was being done, as may be seen by the following list of
industries represented in the village in that year:
Peter Head, miller; Charles Jewett and Ealpli Watson,
tanners; Matthew Hodgson, brewer; Charles Prout,
carpenter; and William Lumsden, A. Lepper, James
Sterling and P. P. Whitney, merchants. The two
hotels at this time were kept by Peter Head and Charles
Payne.

In the fifties an attempt was made to attach the name
Canton to the village, but was unsuccessful, and the
name Pickering, which had been coming more and more
into use, was confirmed by the erection into a police
village under that name.

One of the first events to be recorded in the history of
Pickering village is the opening of the post office in the
year 1829 (January 6th), with Francis Leys as post-
master. He was a Scotchman from Aberdeenshire, who
had come out some years earlier, and was one of the
most prominent figures in the township for a quarter of
a century. His house was half a mile east of where

128

PIiCKEEING VILLAGE

Pickering village now is, and while in no sense a public
house, it often afforded hospitable entertainment to
newly arrived immigrants and travellers. James I.
Davidson, on his arrival in 1842, stopped there, and
taking it as a place of accommodation, asked for
his bill. " It'll be nothing to you," was Mr. Leys' reply ;
"you're from Aberdeen." Mr. Leys was postmaster
till his death in 1853, when he was succeeded by his son-
in-law, P. F. Whitney, who held the office till his death
in 1862. Mrs. Elizabeth Whitney followed, keeping the
position till 1884, when William Logan was appointed.
In 1897 Mr. Logan was succeeded by the present post-
master, Eichard A. Bunting.

Peter Head's hotel stood about in the position now
occupied by the Dales Block. Head continued the hotel
till on in the sixties, when he was succeeded in turn
by Andrew Mason, Thomas Major and D O'Connor, the
latter of whom, in 1874, sold to Edmund Wright, who
transformed it into a store. The hotel on the south
side of the street was, in the sixties, in charge of Eichard
Leonard, by whom it was sold to John Cuthbert. He
conducted it from 1875 to 1885, when Mr. Gordon, the
present proprietor, took charge. In the middle period
of the century another hotel stood on the south side of
the street about opposite Alloway's shop. Its proprietor
was William Whiteside. The hotel at the west end of
the village, opposite Spink's mill, was built in 1870,
by Timothy O'Leary.

P. F. Whitne/s store was at the west end of the vil-
lage. He held this stand for a great many years and
then was followed by William Logan, who held it for a
period almost as long, the business being transferred in
9 1?9 .[ '

PAST YEARS JN PICKERING

1905 to E. Bryan, by whom it is still conducted. In
1857 Brereton Bunting bought out the general store of
Hugh Brown and conducted it for about thirty years,
being succeeded by his son R. A. Bunting, who still con-
ducts the business. The store at the north-west corner
of Church Street and the Kingston Road was built by
J. R. Brownridge in 1883", and sold the following year
to W. T, Dunbar, by whom the business was conducted
till 1904, when he retired to Dunbarton, and the present
proprietor, D. Simpson, came into possession.

In the sixties a blacksmith shop was in operation at
the west end of the village, owned by Mr. Botsford.
He was succeeded by Michael Reed. The shop now
occupied by G. Law was built about 1870 by John
Armstrong, who was followed in succession by Denis
O'Connor, Mr. Moor and the present occupant.

Among the industries mentioned in a list of 1869-70,
are the following: Shoemakers, James Pollard, Wm.
Cuthbert and B. McGann; Carpenters, William Fergu-
son, J. Henderson and John Hartrick; Harnessmaker,
J. Hodgson; Carriagemaker, Lewis Grant; Brewer,
John Lipsey; Wagonmaker, Patrick Sullivan; Coopers,
John Gordon, Sr., and John Gordon, Jr.

Pickering village has had the services of a consider-
able number of gentlemen of the medical profession
whose names may be mentioned. The earliest of whom
there is record is Dr. Burns, who lived north of Head's
mill about the year 1851, A little later Dr. Agnew
practised here. He died in Pickering and was followed
by Dr. Tucker, who practised till about 1875, and is
well remembered by many. About this time Dr. Clos-
son practised in Pickering for a short time. Dr. Field

130

PICKEEING VILLAGE

followed Dr. Tucker and continued till 1887. In that
year Drs. Eae and E. M. Bateman began in partnership,
which, however, continued for only eighteen months,
when Dr. Bateman took over the practice himself, con-
tinuing till 1907 when he sold out to Dr. Bell and re-
moved to Toronto. In 1887 Dr. J. H. Eastwood came
and practised for about eight years, removing then to
Peterboro. Drs. Dewar and Young each spent about a
year in Pickering and Dr. Bell about two years. Dr.
Towle has practised for about two years.

The first grist mill in Pickering was erected by
Timothy Eogers, probably about the year 1810. It was
followed by one which stood on the brow of the hill
back of the present Spink mill and is believed to have
been erected and owned by a Mr. Elliot, about the year
1837. At a later period it was owned and operated by
Peter Head, and was long known as Head's mill. With
the passage of the years it fell into a dilapidated condi-
iton, and at last was destroyed by fire. In the later
sixties Moses Smith built a small mill near the old
Pickering Station (Elm Dale). It was afterwards
owned by J. E. Hoover, but was burnt down. Being
rebuilt, it passed into the hands of F. Gee, and later to
D. Brokenshire, who still operates it. The Spink mill
in Pickering was erected in 1875 and was in operation
in less than four months from the day the foundation
stone was laid. It has been in continuous and success-
ful operation for these thirty-six years. In 1905 the
large elevator beside it was erected and the plant is now
one of the most complete in this part of Ontario.

Among the important institutions of the village and
the community must be mentioned the local press,

131

PAST YEAES IN PICKERING

The Pickering News was first issued in November, 1881,
by W. H. Higgins, who was also proprietor of the
Whitby Chronicle. He continued its publication, with
James Campbell as editor, till November, 1882. L. H,
Ackerman was owner and editor, till November, 1887,
and was followed by A. Richardson till March, 1888,
when Clarke Bros, purchased the paper and conducted
it, with Joseph T. Clarke as editor till October, 1890. In
that month W. J. Clarke took charge and continued as
editor and publisher till 1901, when Murkar and Thex-
ton became its proprietors, continuing till September,
1907. The firm then dissolved partnership and John
Murkar purchased the business, which he has conducted
with increasing success since that time. Being a gradu-
ate of Port Elgin High School, as well as of higher
institutions of learning, an ex-school teacher, a practical
man of affairs, to say nothing of his having been a
school mate of the writer, Mr. Murkar is a good fellow,
and is hereby cordially recommended to the craft of
newspaper readers at large.

The early issues of the Pickering News (1881) note
the following among the industries of the village at that
time :

"Spink's Mill, a four-storey brick structure, erected six
years ago at a cost of $36,000, with six run of stones,
worked by four Leffel water wheels, having a head of
thirty-four feet. Five millers employed. Capacity 200
barrels of flour a day.

Hoover's Mill, farther south on the creek, where the
branches unite, lately enlarged with five run of stones;
employing four millers. Capacity 135 barrels a day.

Pickering Woodworks: Mr. Greorge Gilchrist. Twenty

13»

PIiCKEEING VILLAGE

horse power engine, planers, shapers, etc. A well-ap-
pointed shop. Seven hands employed.

Carriages, Wagons, Blacksmiths: Ham Bros.,
Messrs. Hawkins, Eeed and Margach.

Furniture, Carpentry: J. H, Beal, Furniture and
undertaking; William Ferguson, carpenter, builder and
contractor.

Cooper Shops: John Gordon, employing four men.
Messrs. Alloway, a large business conducted.

Hotels: The Cuthbert House, a fine hotel just com-
pleted for Mr. John Cuthbert. The Hodgson House,
nearly new, William Hodgson, proprietor.

Boots and Shoes: Denis Sheehan, John Leslie.

Brick and Tile: O'Leary and McKay, a new in-
dustry, initiated 1880.

Groceries, Drygoods, etc. : Edmund Wright, business
established 1866.

Tailor: ]\Ilr. Johnston, east of the Cuthbert House.

Butcher: E. Westlake.

Barber: Frank Bincette, three doors east of the
Cuthbert House."

133

CHAPTER XVL
PICKERING INSTITUTIONS.

The Disciples Church.

In the forties a little company of brethren used to
meet in a school on the Brock Eoad just west of Pick-
ering village in which Edmond Sheppard taught. He
was one of the leaders of the services which they con-
tinued to hold in the school for some years. Later as the
congregation grew the brick church on the Kingston
Koad was built. Among the families connected with
the organization were those of John Tripp, William
Forrester, George Leng, Abraham Knowles, Jordan
Post, George Barclay and his sons Eli and James,
James L. and Charles Palmer.

Led by such men as Elders Barclay and Forrester
and John Tripp, the congregation grew in interest and
in numbers, reaching at one time, it is said, a member-
ship of nearly two hundred and fifty. In later years,
through removals by death and otherwise the numbers
were much reduced, and since the death of John Tripp
who rendered the congregation loyal service on into
extreme old age, the services have been discontinued.

The Friends' Meeting.

Among the settlers in the neighborhood of Pickering
Village in the first decade of the century were Timothy
Rogers, Nicholas Brown and John Haight and other

134

PICKEEING INSTITUTIONS

families who were active in the service of the religious
body known as the Friends or Quakers. They were
later followed by the Wrights, Eeazins, Cornells, Tay-
lors, Dales, Boones and Betts, all of whom were of that
faith.

Early after the first settlement a meeting was estab-
lished. Their worship was characterized by the well-
known distinctive features of quiet meditation, waiting
upon God, speaking only when moved of the Spirit,
and equality of the membership as regards the right of
exhortation. Their life was of that quiet, peace-loving,
industrious type which has always characterized the
Friends, and Pickering has had no better citizens than
those of this name, who not only nominally, but in fact
and in truth, walked by the guidance of the Inner
Light.

In the year 1830 a certain section of the membership
seceded from the main body, with the result of there
being two distinct bodies of Friends from that time.

The first yearly meeting of the Orthodox Friends
was established in 1867, at which time the large brick
meeting house was erected. Eepresentatives not only
from the various parts of Canada but from the United
States, England and Ireland gathered at this meeting.

In 1908 the meeting house was struck by lightning
and burned and all the records of early meetings were
lost. The house was repaired in the following year and
is still in use.

Pickering College.

For many years Pickering Village had adjacent to
it one of the best-known educational institutions in the

135

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

Province in " Pickering College." It was the suc-
cessor of a Friends' Boarding School which was opened
near Picton in 1841, and incorporated in 1848 under
the name of the Friends' or Quakers' Seminary.

In 1877 the Seminary opened in the new building at
Pickering, which occupied a splendid site north-east
of the village, and was surrounded by spacious and suit-
able grounds. Known since that time as Pickering
College, it began under the principalship of Mr, F.
Burgess, M.A., a career of greatly enlarged usefulness.
Later principals were John E. Bryant, M.A., S. Percy
Davis, M.A., and William H. Huston, M.A.

From 1885 until 1892 the College was closed, but in
the latter year re-opened under W. P. Firth, M.A.,
B.Sc, under whose efficient control its attendance and
reputation grew as never before. It became a prepara-
tory and collegiate school for both sexes, carrying on
successful work in four departments — preparatory, col-
legiate, commercial and fine arts. Its academic course
covered the work for Honor Matriculation into Toronto
University. The accommodation was largely improved
by the fitting up of chemical and physical laboratories,
the introduction of a steam laundry and the erection
of a handsome brick gymnasium. In the early nineties
the attendance was such as to tax to the utmost the
capacity of the building, pupils coming not only from
the various provinces of Canada, but from Japan, Rus-
sia, Persia, Armenia, Australia, the United States,
Mexico, Central America and the West Indies.

While thoroughness of work was made the first con-
sideration, the College was pre-eminently a home school.
The healthy moral tone, the quiet isolation, the oppor-

136

PICKEEINO INSTITUTIONS

tunities for athletic enjoyment on the wide campus,
the college rinks, the well-equipped courts, and in the
gymnasium, made it a most popular institution.

This was never more signally evidenced than on Sep-
tember 14th, 1894, when about four hundred old stu-
dents gathered at the College, coming from all parts of
the Dominion, and spent a day in renewing the old fel-
lowships. It may safely be said that no institution of
learning has a more loyal body of graduates than Pick-
ering College.

But on the eve of the re-opening of the school for
the winter term of 1906 the main building was de-
stroyed by fire.

After careful consideration on the part of those con-
cerned it was decided not to rebuild in Pickering, but
to remove the College to Newmarket. A site has been
chosen and a new building erected and Pickering Col-
lege is still continuing its career of usefulness though
separated from the village and the township which
gave it its name.

Among the many who took part of their course in
Pickering are Prof. Tracy, of Toronto University, Prof.
Barker, of Johns Hopkins, Prof. Wright of the School
of Practical Science, J. D. A. Tripp, the well-known
professor of music, now of Vancouver, and Drs. Samuel
Lamoreaux and Lafayette Woodruff.

The Eoman Catholic Church.

Christianity was first represented within the bounds
of what is now Pickering Township by the Eoman
Catholic missionaries, who spent the winter of 1669-70
among the Indians of Candatsetiagon, and among the

137

PAST YEARS IN PICKEEING

settlers of the early part of last century came many of
that faith, who have since constituted an important part
of the population. As early as 1838 the following
Eoman Catholic families had settled in Pickering: G.
O'Leary, lot 6, concession 4; J. Long, lot 4, concession
4; T. O'Leary, lot 4, concession 4; D. O'Connor, lot 1,
concession 3'; Daniel O'Connor, lot 4, concession 3; B.
Quigley, lot 8, concession 5; J. Sullivan, lot 27, con-
cession 1; E. Garland, lot 33, concession 3; J. Carlin,
lot 14, concession 6; E. Brennan, lot 26, B. P.; T. Mc-
Cann, lot 7, concession 4 ; M, Smith, lot 26, B. P.

Members of the Eoman Catholic Church living in
Pickering before 1842 occasionally attended church in
St. Paul's in Joronto, there being no church nearer.
Several of the young children of that period were
carried by their parents to Toronto to receive the sacra-
ment of baptism. Among the number was one who
still lives in the township, Mrs. M. Maddaford, daugh-
ter of the late Thomas McCann. Occasionally Mass was
celebrated at private homes by priests travelling as
missionaries between Toronto and Cobourg.

In 1842 Pather Kerwin erected the first Church in
Oshawa, and though services were not held every Sun-
day, the Catholics of Pickering were often able to
enjoy the ministrations of their church there. In 1848
Eev. J. B. Proulx, who had labored for many years
among the Indians of northern Lake Huron, was ap-
pointed to Oshawa, and incidentally to the adjoining
missions of Pickering and Highland Cteek, Mara.
Brock, Eama, Georgina and Eldon.

A year later the first Catholic Church in Pickering
was built. It was a frame building, and stood at the

138

PICKEEING INSTITUTIONS

west side of the present old Catholic cemetery (lot 16,
concession 1), about forty rods south from Spink's
mill.

In the year 1859 Eev. P. D. Laurent became assist-
ant to Father Proulx and in the following year was
appointed the first parish priest of Pickering. During
the same year Father Proulx was called to the deanery
of Toronto, and to some extent retired from active
service, being worn out with a long life's arduous toil.

Since 1860 the parish priests have been as follows:
Rev. Fathers P. D. Laurent, P. A. Cummings, A. P.
Finan, W. T. Flannery, P. Conway, T. M. Hayden,
Edward Cassidy, W. Berrigan, J. Beausiang, D. J.
Sheehan, M. J. Jeffcott, E. F. Gallagher, J. Sheridan
and the present incumbent, Father McCabe.

The first church soon proving insufiScient, the present
church was erected in the year 1870.

The Church of England^ St. George.

As early as 1832-5 periodical services of the Church
of England were held in the townships of Whitby and
Pickering by the Eev. Adam Elliott. In 1836 there is
record of both places being visited by the Eev. H. H.
O'Neill in the months of March and April.

In 1841 WTiitby and Pickering were formally united
as one charge, the first incumbent being Eev. John
Pentland. In this year St. George's Church, Pickering,
was built of brick. Later incumbents of this period
were Eevs, Thomas W. Marsh, in 1850, and G. B. P.
Vine, in 1859.

In 1864 Pickering and Whitby were separated and
Pickering had the following men in charge: Eevs.

139

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

W. M. Ross, James Mockridge, in 1868; C. G. Jones,
in 1869; R. G. Sutherland, in 1871; W. W. Kendall
in 1873, and Johnstone Vicars in 1874.

In the year 1877 Pickering was united with Port
Whitby, and in 1879 Rev. W. S. Westney was in charge.
Later, in 1893, Port Whitby was restored to the Whitby
charge, since which time till 1906 St. George's has been
served by the following men: Revs J. H. Jones,
J. W. D. Cooper, W. F. Carpenter, C. J. A. Batstone
and E. C. Earp.

Featernal Orders.

Among fraternal orders in Pickering village the
premier place, so far as date of organization is con-
cerned, is, held by The Ancient Order of United
Workmen, No. 105, which was e.«tablished January
19th, 1887, with the following charter members : J. S.
Spink, Rev. J. J. Cameron, Michael Reed, J. R. Hoover,
J. L. Margach, Angus Mackay, Gervas Cornell, Francis
Linton, Alex. Findlay and Thomas Leng.

The next order is the Independent Order of Foresters,
organized April 2nd, 1888, with the following members :
John H. Eastwood, William Logan, James Gordon,
Robert Davidson, George Kerr, David Annan, R. A.
Bunting, John M. Palmer, William Miller, John Gill-
man, John Branton, Harrison Remmer, Harry West-
gate and Joshua Richardson.

Freemasonry had its representatives in and near the
village from the early days of Brougham Union Lodge
No. 269, to which a number from here belonged, but
was first organized in the village when Doric Lodge,
No. 424, was chartered in 1890, with the following

140

PICKERING INSTITUTIONS

members: Harry Westgate, David Annan, Thomas
Gormley, Colin Campbell, J. H. Eastwood, Duncan
Mcintosh, W. J. Eeazin, John Mcintosh, Robert J.
Davidson, James Gordon, Matthew O^Brien, George
Kerr, and John R. Hoover.

On May 9th, 1893, the Canadian Order of Home
Circles organized with the following members: Isaac
"Wise, R. M. Bateman, C. E. Marquis, R. A. Bunting,
J. A. Hilts, James T. Richardson, Lyman Forsyth,
Thomas Head, Fred R. Gee, John Dickie, R. S. Dilling-
ham, T. A. Greig, and J. H. Eastwood

On October 1st, 1897, Ontario Lodge, No. 334, of the
Independent Order of Oddfellows was organized with
the following charter members : W. G. Ham, J. A.
Hilts, George A. Gordon, John B. Horn, Richard
Moore and J. S. Barker.

Pickering A Police Village.

In the year 1900 Pickering took the last step in the
direction of a more complete organization, when it was
by by-law No. 580 of the County of Ontario erected into
a police village. The by-law was passed the second day
of June, and the first meeting of the police trustees
after their election appointed to take place on the 26th
day of June in that year. The first trustees of the vil-
lage were Robert Miller, David Pugh and R. A Bunt-
ing. Since that time the following have held the office:
W. V. Richardson, L. D. Banks, W. H. Peake, John
Dickie, Dr. E. M. Bateman, R. S Dillingham, James
Gordon, D. Simpson, W. D. Rogers, P. E. Gee, M. S.
Chapman, J. H. Wagner and William Allaway. The
trustees for this year, 1911, are William Allaway, John
Dickie and Richard A. Bunting.

141

CHAPTER XVII.
CLABEMONT.

When there was no Claremont the stone building
which still stands at the southwest angle of the inter-
section of the Brock Eoad and the Ninth Concession
Line (now occupied by Mr. David Hopper) already
stood there. It was erected in 1847, on the corner of the
farm then owned by Mr. John Hamilton, the first in-
tention being that it should be occupied by his brother-
in-law, Robert D. Paterson. Mr. Paterson lived in
the building for a short time, but removed to Toronto
without establishing business. Shortly afterwards
Thomas Noble, a genial Irishman, rented the store and
began dispensing groceries and other wares to the set-
tlers of the neighborhood. The place then began to
be commonly known as Noble's Corners. This was the
second store in the neighborhood, John C. Michell
having already for several years (since 1844) conducted
business on the east side of the Brock Road about half
a mile south of the corner.

Ambitious enough to boast two stores, the region
of Noble's Corners had yet no depository for Her Maj-
esty's mails. At length, about 1850, the community
decided that it could no longer do without so necessary
an institution and they began to cast about for a name
for the new post-office that was to be. Suggestions were

14^

^^psr- -^

MACNAB'S STQRE

CLAEEMONT

not lacking, one of the most striking being the remark-
able name "Salubrious." Another, however, said to
have been ordered by William H. Michell, met with
most favor. Some years earlier his uncle, Mr. Watkins,
who at that time had owned the Hamilton farm, erected
a house on it near the Ninth Concession Line, which,
mindful of a little village near Old London, he had
named "Claremont Cottage." Mr. Michell's sugges-
tion was that the name Claremont be given to the
new post-office and embryo village. It was so named,
and by appointment of the Queen and the Province of
Canada Thomas Noble became in 1851 the first post-
master of (Claremont. "Claremont Cbttage," after
being occupied successively by the families of Messrs.
Watkins, Daws and Hamilton, was accidentally burned
down.

The first store in Claremont was that opened by John
C. Michell on the east side of the Brock Eoad about
half a mile south of the village, in 1844. It continued
till it was superseded by the new brick store on the
southeast of the "Four Corners." The Macnab brothers
opened their store in the old stone building on the
southwest corner in 1853. At this time the hotel on
the northeast corner was already in operation, being
built and owned by a man named O'Brien. The frame
store on the northwest corner was erected in the later
fifties, having been brought from Oreenwood.

The allied trades of tanning and shoemakirg flour-
ished locally in the early days of the history of the
village. William Beal, father of J. H. Beal, had a
tannery north of Claremont on the creek, about west
of where Mr. Caster's house now stands. Later Dug-
US

PAST YEARS IN PICKEEING

aid Taylor, jr., had a tannery in the village on the
west side of the Brock Eoad.

In the early seventies there were the following shoe-
makers in Claremont: Dugald Taylor, who often em-
ployed four men: John Palmer later succeeded hy his
son, John Palmer, jr.; Shackel Palmer, and William
Keith, and in 1876 Magnus Henderson and J. S. Par-
mer began business. One of those who worked with
Dugild Taylor was his son-in-law, James Jobbitt. Af-
ter Mr. Taylor's death he continued the business and
for some time was in partnership with J. W. Gregg,
and later with W. M. Palmer. Mr. Jobbitt died in
1904, and the following year Mr. Palmer opened the
business which is still carried on in the frame store on
the northwest corner.

In the fifties and sixties John Forfar had a planing
mill and general woodworking shop on the lot now
occupied by Robert W. Ward. In the later sixties
Charles Michell, by whom the woodwork in the pres-
ent Macnab store was done, was the proprietor. After
him it was occupied successively by Stephen Powell,
Mt. Lorrimer and DodweU and Saunders. Eventually
it was burned down.

Among the wood and iron workers of the sixties and
seventies may be mentioned Alex. Skene, carpenter;
the Gerows, carpenters and pumpmakers ; William Dows-
well, wagonmaker ; William Spencer, who is said to have
turned out from his shop as many as thirteen finished
wagons in a season; George Bundy, joiner, cabinet-
maker and undertaker, and J. W. McGregor, manu-
facturer of tubs, pails, rakes, etc.

144

JOHN M. MACNAB

CLAEEMONT

The Macnab Store.

The Macnab store has been one of Claremont's dis-
tinctive institutions since 1853. In that year William
Macnab, a native of Glasgow, Scotland, purchased the
business which had been conducted for some years by
Thomas Noble in the stone building on the corner of
the Hamilton farm, the southwest of the Claremont
"four corners." Here after two years he was joined by
his brother John, then a young man of nineteen.

A year or two after this Mr. Dow, who owned the
land on the northwest corner, surveyed ten acres of it
into lots of one-fifth of an acre each. The corner lot
was purchased by the Macnabs at $400, while the next
adjoining lot on the north was sold to a Mr. James
Blaikie for $300. At the time of these sales there were
only a few yards of clearance at the corner, the land
north and west being still close-covered with the prim-
eval forest.

To this lot tlie brothers brought a commodious frame
building which had been originally erected in G-reen-
wood — substantially the building which still occupies
the corner — and began to lay the foundations of an ex-
tensive and prosperous business. About this time Wil-
liam Macnab left the firm and removed to Flesherton,
his place being taken by another brother, Duncan, who
had arrived from Scotland in 1855, and had spent some
time in the employ of Bryce, McMurrich & Co., of
Toronto.

The business in Claremont was prosperous, but it
was no sinecure. Tlie Macnab brothers knew very prac-
tically the "strenuous life" half a century before Koose-

10 145

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

velt coined the phrase. There was no railway nearer
than the main line of the G-rand Trunk, and hence the
bulk of their wares were hauled from, and their pro-
duce to, Toronto by wagon and sleigh. Business was
done very largely on twelve months' credit, and all
kinds of farmers^ produce were handled, including
butter, eggs, lard, tallow, lumber, shingles, home-made
flannel, sheeting, stocking yarn, mitts, maple sugar,
axe-handles and tallow candles. There were no egg-
carriers in those days — the eggs were packed in boxes
and cases among oat-hulls and straw. In one instance
500 dozen were so packed in a large case and not a
shell was chipped when they were unpacked in Toronto.
This was the work of an expert. In the season a wagon-
load of eggs would be sent off every ten or twelve days.
During one season from spring to fall seven tons of
butter were handled, and practically every pound had
to be "worked" and packed. It meant that many a
night the brothers worked on into the wee sma' hours
straightening up the business of the preceding and pre-
paring for that of the succeeding day.

On the fifth day of July. 1875, the Macnabs pur-
chased the brick store on the southeast of the "four
corners," which since that time has been "Macnab's
store." The land on this corner had originally been
laid out in lots and sold by Alexander Spears. The
corner lot had been purchased by John Forfar and by
him sold to John C. Michell on July 14th, 1851, the
price paid being £12 10s. The brick store which still
occupies the corner was built by Mr. Michell.

For twenty-four years, or until 1899, the brothers

146

CLAEEMONT

continued the business in this store, and then, having
been eminently successful, retired from active manage-
ment, the business being transferred to three of the
younger generation of Macnabs — Peter^ son of the
older brother William, and Charles and Peter, sons
of John.

This partnership was maintained for a number of
years, but eventually was dissolved, the share of the two
brothers being purchased by Peter Macnab, sr., who is
still its popular proprietor.

The stone store after being vacated by the Macnabs
was occupied by Richard Stokes and Charles V. Michell.
In 1875 the business was purchased, by R. P. Hopper,
in whose services Richard Stokes remained for seven
years, when he again took partnership in the business.
Five years later he died, after which E. P. Hopper
continued the business till 1897, when he disposed of it
to his brother, David Hopper, the present proprietor.

Claremont's Mills.

Among Claremont's mills must be included a grist
mill built long before Claremont came into being. In
the early years of the century Joshua Wixon had
a mill on the Ninth Concession some distance east of
where the village now stands. The next known mill
was that erected by John C Michell in tlie forties on
Lot 18, Con. 9, on the creek, half a mile south of the
village which did service for many years. In the early
fifties John Hamilton established a mill on the west
side of Lot 20, Con. 8, which was operated by James
Russell till February, 1870, when it was burned down.

147

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

Later Mr. Russell managed a flour mill on the north
side of the Ninth Concession Line, just west of the
village. This was burned down in 1884.

Claremont Lodges.

Freemasonry in the Township of Pickering dates back
to the year 1872. The Chartei of Brougham Union
Lodge, No. 269, was issued on February 11th of that
year. The following are the names of the charter
members : John P. Campbell, David W. Ferrier, Charles
Churchill, J. C. Smith, William Smith, Charles W.
Matthews, Thomas Middaugh, Lewis Bentley, Ira Shar-
rard, Harvey W. Ferrier, Alfred Turner and Samuel
Green. The first regular communication of the lodge
was held on the evening of February xJSth, 1872.

The following brethren have served the lodge as chief
rulers of the craft since that time : J. P. Campbell, 1872 ;
D. W. Ferrier, 1873 and 1874; George Darby, 1875;
Rev. Walter R. Ross, 1876; Hector Baxter, 1877 and
1878; William Smith, 1879; Richard Stokes, 1880 and
1881 ; John Palmer, 1882 and 1883 ; John D. McAvoy,
1884 and 1885; George D. Linton, 1886 and 1887;
John Palmer, 1888; Robert, W. Ward, 1889; R. J.
Price, 1890; F. A. Beaton, 1891; H. Westgate, 1892
and 1893; S. B. Lynde, 1894; Robert Miller, 1895; H.
Westgate 1896 ; W. G. Barnes, 1897 and 1898 ; Albert E.
Major, 1899 ; E. J. Walsh, 1900 ; U. E. Bateson, 1901 ;
W. J. Gregg, 1902; James Douglas, 1903; Robert E.
Forsyth, 1904; Donald R. Beaton, 1905 ; Thomas Gregg,
1906; Dr. G. N. Fish, 1907; Thomas Paterson, 1908;
Robert S. Phillips, 1909; John Forgie, 1910; David
Gregg, 1911.

148

CLAREMONT

During the year 1900 the Lodge removed its location
to Claremont, where it has since remained, and where
in recent years it has purchased a hall in which its
meetings are held.

Claremont Lodge, No. 108, of the Ancient Order
of United Workmen, received its charter on January
31st, 1881. The following were its first officers: Charles
Russell, P. M. W.; Charles J. Brodie, M. W. ; T. A.
Edgar, Foreman ; Cliarlcs V. Michell, Overseer ; Albert
T. Sowerby, Recorder; John Paterson, Financier;
Benjamin S. Palmer, Treasurer; William Reith, Guide;
William Russell, I. Watchman; Henry Russell, 0.
Watchman.

Claremont Council, No. 99, of the Royal Templars
of Temperance received its charter on October 1st, 1S84.
Among its foremost v/orkers were Foster Hutchinson,
William Dowswell, George Graham, Peter Macnab, A.
Bundy, Dr. Ferrier and Thomas Pilkey.

Claremont Circle, No. 82, of the Order of Canadian
Home Circles was organized June 23rd, 1887, by P. M.
Pattison, the founder of the order, with the following
officers: P. L., D. Forsyth; L., D. W. Ferrier, M. D.;
V. L., Mrs. D. Forsyth; Sec, Fted Farmer; Treas.,
Joshua Bundy; F. S., Joseph Slack; Chap., Thomas
Pugh; Mar., B. C. Bundy; War., Mrs. T. Pugh; G.,
Mrs. Joshua Bundy; S., John Madill; Trustees, B. S.
Palmer, James Anderson and George Empringham.

The latest addition to the fraternal organizations of
the village is Claremont Lodge, No. 430, of the Inde-
pendent Order of Odd Fellows, which was organized Ap-
ril 21st, 1911. The following are the names of its first

149

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

officials : G. H. Samis, J. Gerow, D. A. Scott, R. Besse,
R. Bryan, J. McGrath, George Jones, T. Adair, C. Neal,
N. Tomlinson, R. E. Forsyth, R. Leggitt, A. Walker,
L. J. Pilkey, W. Wilson.

Police Village,

Claremont in the year 1908 took steps to have itself
recognized as a village and to secure the right of man-
agement of its own local taxation. On November 28th
in that year By-law Number 694 of the County Council
was passed and came into force, creating the Police
Village and appointing January 20th, 1908, as the date
for the first meeting of the police trustees. The trus-
tees elected for that year were Robert W. Ward, J. S.
Farmer, and G. Malcolm Forsyth.

150

FREDERICK GREEN

CHAPTER XVIIL

WHITE AND GREEN VILLAGES.

Gkeenwood.

At the time when the nucleus of the present village
of Greenwood began to form in the thirties and on into
the fifties it was known by the name of Norwood; but
eventually Greenwood, derived from the name of the
Green family, who were the most prominent and suc-
cessful business men of the place, became the permanent
name.

Greenwood has always been known for its mills. The
first one, a very sni'all and humble establishment, was
built in 1840 by an Englishman named Cockerlire. In
1843 about the middle of February Frederick Green
and his family moved to the village and purchased the
old mill, to which shortly afterwards he built east and
west additions.

Prior to this time a fairly extensive business in
milling, distilling and storekeeping had been carried on
by the Howell family farther west (in the valley known
as Howells' Hollow). In the year 1847 they purchased
some property in Greenwood and erected another mill
(that now operated by F. L. Green), with the expecta-
tion that they would "soon send Green out of busi-
ness." The issue was the opposite way and Mr. Green

151

PAST YEAPiS m PICKEEING

became the proprietor of both mills. He also conducted
a distilling business for some years in the village. After
Mr. Green's purchase of the new mill the older one was
for some years conducted by his son, Charles E. Green.

Other businesses begun in the forties were James
Demorest's sawmill, which stood back of the new Flour
mill; ,T. C. Sterling's hotel, established about 1847; and
a tannery. At this period and for a number of suc-
ceeding years Greenwood gave promise of being ulti-
mately a large and prosperous centre. It made a strong
bid for the position of agricultural and municipal centre
and for years quarterly stock sales were conducted at
Sterling's Hotel; but location and other circumstances
were somewhat against it, and the buildings of the
Agricultural Society and the township hall were
erected in Brougham. During Greenwood's golden age
there were two sawmills, two flour mills, three hotels,
three general stores, two shoemakers, two blacksmiths,
a harness shop, and a large cooper shop. The latter
was rendered necessary by the fact that all flour was
shipped in barrels, and the staves, heads and hoops
were practically all made by hand.

The first building on the lot now occupied by the
Methodist church was erected by John Carolan, who was
a Eoman Catholic, and services of that church were held
in it for some time, conducted by Father Proulx. Later
a private school was conducted there by Miss Weed.
The Church of England for a considerable time had
services in the village, and they also used the same
building. Among those who represented the Church of
England were Eevs. Messrs. Viner, Vickers and West-
ney. Among other institutions Greenwood had an

152

WHITE AND GREEN VILLAGES

Orange Lodge, which was maintained till a compara-
tively recent period.

Greenwood's first doctor was a Dr. Caddie, after whom
came Dr. Tucker, who later moved to Pickering. Later
Dr. A. Fullarton had a drug store in the village.

A list of the industries of the village made in 1869
contains the following: Shoemakers, M. Boddy, J.
Boddy, E. Graham; coopers, M. Carey, E. Lennon, H.
Shea and J. Stalter; merchants, J. Sterling and F.
Mcen ; miilers, F. Green, sr., S. J. Green. A. Byer?, J.
Mitchell; blacksmiths, G. Graham and D. Miller; tailor,
A. McKay; hotel-keepers, Mrs. J. C. Sterling and 0.
Doyle. When the old Montreal Telegraph line was put
through it had an office in Greenwood. The line crossed
from Whitby to Markham.

At the time of the Fenian Eaid the Greenwood com-
pany was called out, including the following: F. Meen,
F. Green, S. Green, C. Green, J. Boddy, J. Mitchell and
M. Eyan. Of this company Samuel J. Green was in 1858
appointed ensign, under Sir Edmund Walker Head,
"Captain-General and Governor-in-Chief," and D. Mac-
donnell lieutenant-colonel, and in 1863 under the re-
gime of Monck he was made lieutenant.

The Greenwood mills were managed by F. Green, sr.,
for many years, till they were taken over by his son,
S. J. Green. By him they were operated till his death
in 1878, when they were leased to John Mitchell for
eight years. During this period Fred L. Green, son
of S. J. Green, served his apprenticeship as a miller and,
after several years service in mills elsewhere, in 1886
he took charge of the business and continues to man-
age it to the present time. His brother, W. S. Green,

153

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

now employed with the Washburn-Crosby Co., of Buf-
falo, learned the milling business in the Greenwood
mills and was in charge for a number of years. In
1889 the old mill was changed from a flour mill to an
oatmeal mill and was run as such for ten years.

Whitevale.

The Major family were the pioneers of the Wliite-
vale neighborhood and for many years it was known
as the village of Major or Majorville. Later it owed
so much of its development and business prosperity
to Mr. Truman P. White that in acknowledgment it
adopted Whitevale as its permanent designation.

The village as such may be said to have had its be-
ginning in the year 1855. In that year Donald Mc-
Phee opened the first store and Mr. White erected a grist
mill, which for equipment far surpassed all others in the
township at the time. It cost about $10,000. In 1866
he built a large planing mill and in 1867 a large brick
woollen mill, costing about $30,000. He also owned a
sawmill in the village. The woollen mill was leased
and operated for some years by a Mr. Ellis, the flour
mill in the years 1867 to 1874 by the Spink brothers
and the sawmill by the Besse brothers.

Whitevale during these years was a busy place. Be-
sides the industries above mentioned it had within
these years a stave and heading factory and a barrel
factory, both owned and operated by the Spink bro-
thers; a wagon and carriage factory, operated by the
Pollard brothers; a cheese factory, owned and operated
by P. R. Hoover and Co. ; the merchant and tailoring
firm of J. Rose and Son; the general store of James

154

T. P. WHITE

WHITE AND GEEEN VlLLAGEig

Taylor and Donald McPhee; the shoemaker shops of
Joiiu Allen and D. Moodey; the butchiT shop of Iscae]
Burton and the tinsmith shop of S. B. Wigmore.

But evil days came upon many of the flourishing
industries. Before 1874 the planing factory, the stave
and heading factory and the carriage factory were wiped
out by fire. Later the woollen mill went the way of the
others, but left the brick walls standing, and still later
the flour mills, then being operated by Mr. White him-
self, were also burned. Afterward the flour mill machin-
ery was installed in the walls of the woollen mill and
continued in operation. A public hall which had been
erected in 18G0 must also be counted in Whitevale's
losses by fire.

Whitevale's first medical man was Dr. Stephen Clos-
son, a Scarboro man who practised here in the sixties,
but only for a brief term. He was followed by Dr.
Thomas Brunskill, who practised in the years 1869-70.
After him came Dr. William S. Black, who remained
two years, 1872-3, then going to Markham and after-
wards to Uxbridge. He now lives in Oakville. Dr. J.
E. Taber was the next, practising in Whitevale from
1879 to 1884. He was a native of Scarboro and had
a large and successful practice. He died in 1884. His
brother, Dr. Stephen Taber, succeeded him and re-
mained in Whitevale for about six years, and till his
death in 1910 he occasionally spent short periods in
the village. In 1884 another doctor also began practice,
namely, Dr. W. H. Carleton, who remained three years,
after which he went to Thornhill. Dr. C. H. Francy
practised from 1890 to 1895 and Dr. J. C. Hutchinson
from 1895 until 1903. Since that time it is understood

155

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

that the place has grown so healthy that it has required
no resident doctor.

Lodge No. 282 of the Ancient Order of United
Workmen was organized in Whitevale on June 17th,
1887. The following were the charter members : George
Burton, T. R. Hoover, George Burton, C. C. Reesor,
William Boyd, J. Thornton, William Coakwell, E.
Nighswander, S. B. Lynde, John Turner, W. R. Barton,
Walter S. Major and A. E. Major. In 1900 the lodge
was transferred to Green River, where it still meets.

Court Pride of the Yale, No. 7144, of the Ancient
Order of Foresters was organized on July 26th, 1885.
The following were the charter members : J. Kirton,
J. Ferguson, A. Besse, Dr. W. H. Carleton, Levi Cooper,
John Burkholder, S. Pennock, William Lount, S.
Mitchell, Robert Birnie, Donald R. Beaton, Fred Fuller
and Charles C. Reesor.

Brougham Lodge No. 155 of the Independent Order
of Odd Fellows was instituted in the village of Brougham
on January 29th, 1875. The charter members were J.
W. Wonch, Simpson Webb, Walter Heather, W. J. Bo-
dell, Frank Bentley. The charter and paraphernalia
of the lodge were destroyed by fire, December, 1892.
In August, 1893, a duplicate charter was issued and the
lodge moved to Whitevale, where it continues to meet.

Green Rivee.

To give the early history of Green River would be
to tell the story of the families bearing the names of
Osburn, Bice, Runnals, Vardon, Ferrier, Turner, Mc-
Intyre, Poucher, Winter and others who made up the

156

WHITE AND GEEEN VILLAGES

community long before there was a village. One of
the earliest business men of the place was Benjamin
Doten^ who in the year 1849 established a wagon and
blacksmith shop. The premises were known for a time
as the Dotenville Carriage Works, and many a good
buggy was built therein. More than one of his buggies
have been known to be in use for over forty years.
There was good timber in the early days and good
workmen to handle it.

In 1857 William Barnes built a sawmill which did
a large business, sending lumber to Whitby and Oshawa
for building purposes and shipping large quantities at
Frenchman's Bay. In 1870 he added a factory which
turned out tubs, pails, and fork-handles, and two years
later machinery was installed for preparing brush
handles and blocks. In 1875 a basket-making business
was added. These industries are still being carried
on on a large scale by his son, W. G. Baimes.

Among the founders of the village must also be men-
tioned the Smith brothers, Edward and John, who in
the early seventies purchased an old sawmill property,
repaired and put it into working trim. The name
Green Eiver is said to have been chosen at a meeting
called by them to choose a fitting appellation for the
mill. They also built a large grist mill, a store and a
public hall, and were instrumental in securing the
opening of a post office.

Thirty-five or forty years ago Green Eiver had a
flourishing Division of the Sons of Temperance. A
hall was erected for their use! Among those who were
active in the work of the Division were John Smith, 0.
P. Ferrier, Dr. D. W. Ferrier, John Wilson and John
Bice. 157

PAST YEARS IN PICKEEING

Green River has during recent years been somewhat
closely associated with the rapid development of inde-
pendent telephone lines throughout the province, being
the home of Mt. Alph. Hoover, than whom no one is
better known among telephone people. Something had
been done with private telephones and short local lines
in the latter years of the nineteenth century, F. 1j.
Green having had a private line in Greenwood as early
as 1887, and Dr. Eastwood having established lines to
Balsam and to Brougham, while Dr. G. M. B'rodie abont
the same time in association with his brother, Dr. C. J.
Brodie, V.S., constructed a line east and south from
Claremont to the Seventh Concession; but in 1902 the
Markham and Pickering Co-operative Association of
which Mr. Hoover was president established its line
from Markham Village to Brougham. The line found
favor with the public from the first and an incorporated
company was soon organized, and lines began to extend
in all directions.

It was the time of the general independent movement
throughout the province and from the first Mr. Hoover
was prominent in the struggle of the independents for
existence. He soon developed into a first-rate fighter and
platform speaker and his services were in demand every-
where. He was one of the few enthusiasts who in 1005
organized the Canadian Independent Telephone Asso-
ciation and was president for the first two years. In the
following year he was elected vice-president of the
International Telephone Association at its meeting in
Chicago.

The work of these associations has not only provided
many otherwise unserved communities with the con-

158

WHITE AND GEEEN VILLAGES

venience of the modern telephone, but has stirred up
the long distance institution to extend its lines and to
serve many communities which would otherwise have
been denied connection.

The York and Ontario Telephone Union, which in-
cludes the Markham and Pickering and the Claremont
and Ashburn companies, has a combined system which
extends from Lake Ontario to Lake Simcoe and from
Yonge street east to Brooklin, and within the year it
will enter the town of Whitby and the village of Port
Perry. Mr. Hoover is still a young man, energetic and
resourceful, and will be heard from when bigger things
still come to be done in the way of telephone extension.

159

CHAPTEE XIX.

TEE ROAD, THE RIVER AND THE BAY.
The Kingston Eoad.

The Kingston Eoad, that time-honored highway of
the pioneers, dates from 1800, when the contract for
cutting out a road two rods wide between York and
Kingston was let to an American. During the early
years of the century there was no bridge across the
Don, the river being crossed by means of a scow. In
1824 a petition presented to Sir Peregrine Maitland
represented that the Don bridge was in bad repair and
that the bridge over the Eouge in Pickering is "from
its decayed state almost impassable, and if not remedied
the communication between this town and the east will
be entirely obstructed." A bridge seems to have been
erected shortly after this period which did duty till
about 1846.

The editor of the Canadian Gazetteer, describing a
journey eastward along the Kingston Eoad in 1850,
writes as follows: —

"Shortly before leaving the township (of Scarboro)
you cross the Highland Creek, from whence to the Eiver
Eouge at the commencement of the Township of Pick-
ering (seventeen miles from Toronto) the land bor-
dering on the road is very sandy. The new road to

160

THE EOAD, THE EIVEE AND THE BAY

the Eouge Bridge is cut through some high banks of
sand bounding the valley of the stream on its western
side. The Eouge Hill was for years a dangerous cross-
ing-place and accidents have not unfrequenitly happened
in ascending or descending, in consequence of the steep
and unprotected nature of the roadway. ThTee or four
years since [i.e., in 1846 or 1847] a new road and bridge
were constructed at a great expense, deep cuttings and
extensive embankments were made and the whole fin-
ished in such a manner as to be a credit to the Prov-
ince. Here the plank and macadamized road termin-
ates and the road beyond is in a very worn and neglected
state." The bridge here referred to did duty till 1878,
when the present bridge was built.

The Eiver Eouge.

In the early days of staging along the Kingston
Eoad t;he Eouge became one of the stations where the
horses were changed, and as such attained some little
local prominence. A sawmill was established on the
west bank of the river a little below the bridge, and on
the high bank on the east side two hotels offered re-
freshment to travellers. In 1850 these were kept by
James Black and A. Noble. At the same time a general
store was kept by E. Playter, who two years afterwards
became the first postmaster of the Eouge.

In passing it may be noted that at a sitill earlier
period the Eouge had some importance in connection
with travel and shipbuilding. Many of the earlier
settlers of the townships farther inland through which
the Eouge flows used it ais their mode of transport to

11 161

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

and from the lake. In 1880 a handsome schooner
named The Duke of YorTc was built at the mouth of
the Rouge by a Captain Hadley. During the winter
of 1825-6 Joseph Dennis built here a fine steamer
called the Cdnada. She was towed to Toronto, where
her engines were installed. In 1834 a sailing vessel,
the Charlotte of Pickering, was built " west of the
ridge called the Hogsback on the Rouge," and in 1843
a schooner was built by Messrs Scripture and Matthews
at Hunter's Hole.

In recent years, the Rouge, a diminished stream,
derives its chief importance from its nearness to the
Rosebank summer resort and doubtless more and more
in future years its quiet waters and its magnificently
wooded banks will be the resort of those who wish to es-
cape the " roar of cities " and to get " near to Nature's
heart." The Rosebank boathouse stands just below
the Grand Trunk Railway bridge near the mouth of
the river, and several city-dwellers already have their
summeT homes farther up the stream.

Three-quarters of a mile east of Dunbarton along the
Kingston Road is the Liverpool comer, named in the
days when it was hoped that Pickering Harbor would
one day rival the great English seaport. The Liver-
pool hotel was kept for many years by Mr. Seeker,
whose son-in-law Robert Toms succeeded him and con-
ducted the house for a number of years.

Tw^o miles east of Pickering Village (Lot 4, Con. 2),
there was in the early days a second stage station,
known as Post's. Here there was for some years a
blacksmith shop, where the horses used on the stage
were shod. But with the advent of the Grand Trunk

162

ROUGE TOLLGATE

THE EOAD, THE EIVER AND THE BAY

Railway in 1856 the glory of staging departed and the
importance of Post's and the Rouge stopping-places
dwindled away.

Frenchman's Bay.

"With the extension of settlement along the north
shore of Lake Ontario and the increasing use of the
Lake itself as the highway of communication, the pos-
sibilities of Frenchman's Bay as a harbor began to
attract attention. It was apparent that with a little
opening of the channel access might be had to a body
of water almost completely land-locked and large enough
to afford shelter for many of such craft as then were
used in lake transport. In the minds of some of the
early enthusiasts fancy even predicted the development
here of a new Liverpool, rivalling the glory of the old.

Apparently in the early forties a company was formed
for the development and management of the harbor.
In 1843 the work of opening the channel was begun.
There were no Government dxedges about in those days.
The dredge employed was of the most primitive type,
an elevator worked by horse-power, but it did the work,
and by 1845 the channel was open and the piers built.
Among those employed in this work were the late Wil-
liam Edwards, then a young man of twenty, and Wil-
liam Henderson, now of Dunbarton, then a youth of sev-
enteen.

The new port immediately after being opened had
for a few years a busy and promising trade. The Bay
became the point of export for very large quantities
of masts, pine logs, and square timber, which were
hauled from the northern part of the township and

163

PAST YEARS IN PICKEEING

even from other townships farther inland. Many hun-
dreds of cords of wood were shipped yearly for fuel to
the growing capital, to the steamboats plying on the
lake and to the portions of the railways which were
already in operation. The village of Whitevale was
growing in size and industrial importance with the
establishment of T. P. White's mills, and flour from
there as well as from Clarke's mill were added to the
exports of the bay.

Within the compass of the Bay there were really two
ports struggling for permanent existence. One wharf and
warehouse were situated just a few yards below the
present stone bridge on the Grand Trunk Eailway, but
the gradual filling up of the upper part of the Bay
sealed its fate and in 1853 the warehouse and wharf
were removed. The other shipping point was directly
across the entrance from where the lighthouse now
stands. A plank road along the beach from the wharf
led to the lower end of the side road, just east of the
village of Dunbarton. Later the business of the Bay
found a third locajtion on the eastern shore, where the
large elevator and ice houses are situated.

As years went on, and especially after the opening
of the Grand Trunk Railway, the trade of the harbor
declined and the company in charge fell upon evil days.
Finally the property passed into the hands of mort-
gagees and the harbor remained unused for some years.
In 1875, however, an effort was made to re-establish
the business. In that year the township became entitled
to receive some $15,i000 from the Province as its share
of the funds raised in connection with the Municipal
Loans scheme. And by By-law 390, passed on May

164

THE EOAD, THE RIVEE AND THE BAY

26th, 1875, $7,000 of this money was appropriated as
a bonus to the Pickering Harbor Company, the con-
ditions being the purchase of the Harbor property, the
improvement of it so as to make it available for traffic
by the opening of navigation in the year 1876, and tlie
keeping of the harbor open for traffic for at least seven
years. The company here referred to was a new or-
ganization with Dr. William McGill and his son-in-law,
Mr. Joseph H. McClellan, as the principal stockholders.
The company in accordance with their agreement ac-
quired the property and during 1875 proceeded with
the work of fitting it up as a port. Early in 1876 on
petition of a large number of ratepayers the council
passed a by-law providing for the issue of debentures
for an additional bonus of $6,000 to the company, re-
quiring them, however, to dredge a channel such as
would admit at all times vessels drawing nine feet of
water, to erect and equip a lighthouse on one of the
piers, to provide a pile wharf on the east side of the
harbor with an elevator of fifty thousand bushels
capacity, and to give a bond securing the efficient main-
tenance of the harbor for thirteen years. These works
were duly constructed and the required improvements
made, and the bonus paid to the company. Two years
later, on petition of the company, supported by peti-
tions from many ratepayers, a by-law was passed is-
suing debentures for a loan of $20,000 to the company.
They claimed to have expended a total of $60,000 upon
the purchase and improvement of the works up to that
time and proposed to expend further considerable sums
"in enlarging their elevator, extending the west pier,
and on other improvements."

165

PAST YEAES IN PICKEEING

At this period and for some years following a great
deal of barley was grown in this locality and found
profitable market in the United States. The Harbor
Company continued to do a very large business for
many years, until the heavy duty placed on barley by
Congress made it unprofitable to produce it for export
to that country.

After some years the harbor works wer^ purchased
by the W. D. Matthews Company, a well-known firm of
grain merchants of Toronto, and are still owned and
operated by them. Beside the grain business the com-
pany handles a large proportion of the coal used in the
township. The cutting, storing and shipping of ice has
also become a very important industry. Mr. W. W.
Sparks, councillor this centennial year, has for many
years been the Company's representative at the Har-
bor.

166

CHAPTEE XX.
TEE SCHOOLS OF THE TOWNSHIP.

A large majority of those who settled in Pickering
in the earlier half of last century were men of fair edu-
cation, and among them there were not a few who had
received such training as fitted them for business of a
public kind, such as drawing contracts and other legal
documents, keeping accounts and recording the minutes
of religious and other public gathering. The early
records of some of the Pickering School Sections,
churches and temperance and other societies are such
as put to shame many records of a similar kind being
made to-day.

Such men valued education and were careful at as
early a period as possible to establish schools in which
their children might enjoy its advantages. Practically
nothing is known of school life in the township till the
period of the thirties. It is probable that there were
small gatherings of children under instruction before
that time but the formal building of schools and their
systematic maintenance begins with that time.

The first schools were rough log structures, crudely
chinked and plastered, with unplaned plank floors,
and absolutely devoid of maps, globes and all the
modern apparatus of education. The desks, always
homemade, usually were ranged around the walls and

167

PAST YEAES IN PICKERING

the pupils sat on backless benches facing them. The
centre was occupied by a big box stove, about which
sometimes when the seats around the walls were all
filled other benches were placed for the smaller children.

As in other parts of Ontario, school life often lan-
guished in the summer months;, but when the fall frosts
prevented further field labor the bigger boys and girls
and often young men and women came flocking back
to school, which became a very hive of busy work for
the winter.

School government in those days was usually des-
potic, not to say tyrannical, but the presence of a con-
siderable number of lusty adult pupils often introduced
a wholesome, democratic element which helped to modify
the rigor of the master's rule. Instances are on record
of a little delinquent's punishment being largely re-
duced or even entirely remitted at the meaningful inter-
cession of a strong-muscled big brother. And on occa-
sion when the despotism became intolerable the despot
was bodily removed to a cool situation in a neighboring
snowbank till his wiser and more humane instincts be-
gan to prevail.

The sthools of the fifties and sixties owed much to
the oversight and advice and encouragement of the
Local Superintendents. In Pickering the following
men discharged the duties of this impoitant position :
Eev. J. Durant 1854, Eev. Alex Kennedy 1855, Mr. E.
Birrell 1856-1865, Eev. John Baird 1866-68 and Eev.
W. A. Eoss 1869-1871.

Union School Section No. 2 (Kinsale) was formed
in 1852. The following are the principal teachers who
have served the section, Mr. Tilley 1852-4, Mr. Ganton

168

EBENEZER BIRRELL

THE SCHOOLS OF THE TOWNSHIP

1855, David Frost 1856, Mr. O'Eeilly 1857, J. Palmer
1858, Miss McLean 1859, George Bartley 1860, Charles
Clarke 1861 (in this year the present school was built),
William H. Dundas 1862, W. Law 1863-4, W. L. Black
1865-6, Levi Mackey 1867-9, Miss L. Palmer 1870,
Alex. McMurray 1871, James Balfour 1873, L. F. John-
ston 1873, G. H. Hopper 1874, S. M. Brown 1875,
Mr. Bain 1876, Miss Susan Betts 1877, L. F. John-
ston 1878, A L. Brown 1879, J. A. Yeomans 1880,
E. 0. Graham 1881-2, E. J. Niddery 1883-4, Mr.
Jeffery 1885-6, Byron Jones 1887-8, Walter Thorn
1889, William H. Greenwood 1890-2, Frank Chapman
and Walter Thom 1893, G. E. Pegg 1894, John Mc-
Cullough 1895-6, Alfred Holliday 1897-8, Miss Pearce
1900-1, Miss Minnie Annan 1902-4, Miss Sharrard
1905, Miss L. Roger 1906, Miss L. Francis 1907-8, Miss
C. E. Black 1909, H. R. Kidd 1910, Miss Annie John-
ston 1911.

The History of the township of Scarboro says in a
note on School Section No. 4, in that township : "The
first School Section was a union one with Pickering,
the schoolhouse standing on the town line, and the
first teacher was a big Scotchman named Ferguson,
of whom all that two of his old pupils now living can
remember is the force and frequency with which he
applied the "taws."

Mr. Ferguson afterwards in the early thirties taught
in the school which stood on the corner opposite the
"White Church" on the 2nd- Con (S.E. corner Lot 28).
This school was used as a place of worship by the
United Presbyterian congregation till the building of

169

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

the church in 1854. Another who taught here was
Miss Macdonald.

A later school stood near the N.W. corner of Lot
28 B.P., north of the Kingston Road. In the fall of
1854, D. W. Ferrier, who had taught the earlier half of
the year in Whitby, took charge of this school and con-
tinued till August, 1855.

The present Dunbarton School, Section No. 3, was
built in the year 1857, the brick for it and for the brick
house on the farm oposite being made in the hollow
south of the Kingston road on the farm. Mr. Jonathan
Holmes took charge of the school that year and con-
ducted it continuously till the close of the year 1886.
He isi still remembered as a man of strong and upright
character and an eminently successful teacher. Prom-
inent among later teachers was Mr. John Blue, who
taught for five years, closing his term in December, 1903.
Mr. Blue is now Librarian of the province of Alberta.

The first school in Section No. 5 (Audley) was a
long one erected on Lot 2, Con. 3, which did duty from
about 1840 till 1850. The second, also a log building,
was situated on Lot 11, Con. 4, and was used till 1856.
A frame school on the site of the present building stood
till 1865, when it was burned. The present brick school
was erected in 1866.

Among the teachers may be ipientioned Matthew
Gold, Henry Peter, John Black, Robert Whiteman, W.
W. Jardine, George Summerville, G. H. Armstrong, J.
Mclnnes, H. Kenny, W. G. Brow^, Smith Curtis, J. T.
Bowerman, H E. Webster, A. H. Holiday, George Web-
bourne, T N. Davey, H. E. Lawton, F. M. Chapman,
D. D. McDonald.

170

THE SCHOOLS OF THE TOWNSHIP

Among those who have gone out from this section
a considerable number have become prominent in profes-
sional life, among whom may be mentioned Colonel
McGillivray, recently deceased, Eev. Father McBrady,
Rev. Thomas Gee, Rev. Daniel Gee, Dr. D. McCarthy,
Dr. W. R. Walters, W. P. McBrady, K. C, and L. V.
McBrady, K. C.

The first school house in section No. 7 (Cherrywood)
was built some time before 1850, It was a log building
and stood on the present school lot, but close to the
road. The teacher there in 1851 was a Mr. O'Grady.
In 1854, B. T. Jackson was the teacher at a salary of
about £70. He continued for some years, probably till
1857, when Mr. Porter succeeded him. The next was
A. F. McKen^ie till 1860, when the new school was
built. The old building was purchased by Mr. James
Peters for a Christian church and service was held in
it for some years. The brick for the new school came
from near Malvern. The first teacher was John Black,
who continued till 1865.

The earliest teachers in what afterwards became
School Section No. 8 (Whitevale) were Mr. White and
Mr. Sleigli. In 1842, a school was erected on the corner
of John Sleigh's farm (Lot 27). The first teacher here
was a Mr. Patton. Others who taught between that time
and 1860 were Mrs. Clarke, Henry Reazin (afterwards
P. S. Inspector) and F. Wonch. Mr. A. Herrick was the
teacher in 1861, and was succeeded by A. B. Ferrier, who
continued for seven years. During this period, in 1864-5,
a new site was chosen, corner of Lot 28, Con. 5, and a
new school erected. The site cost $150 and the building
was erected by T. P. White for $1,900. The teachers

171

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

after this time were George Milden 1868, A. F. Ferrier
1869, J. Shoults 1870, J. Ballard 1873, Mr. Tonkin
1873, R. Seldon 1875-6, A. D. Smith 1878-9, A. Al-
lison 1879-80, J. W. Lamareaux 1881-2, J. F. Dale
1884-5, J. M. Field 1886-7, L. H. Graham 1888-90, T.
Ward 1891-4, Mr. McKay 1895-6, E. H. Hawke 1896-8,
W. W. Noble 1898-1902, E. Hoidge 1904-6, F. C. Mechin
1907-8, Miss D. Mackay 1909, Miss L. Moffat 1910,
Mrs. M. Roach 1911.

School section No. 10 (Brougham) has a history
which goes back far into the traditional period of the
township's existence. The first school was a log building
which stood on the southwest corner of Lot 19, Con. 5,
It was followed by another, also a log building, which
stood between what is now Gerow's Hotel and the
Methodist church. A third, known as the Block School,
was built on the southwest corner of Lot 21, Con. 6. A
fourth school, a frame building, stood south of Brougham
on Lot 19, Con. 5, and was afterwaTds moved to where
the present school stands, west of the village on Lot
19, Con. 5. The present brick building was erected in
1859.

There is no record of the names of teachers earlier
than 1836. From that time till the close of the fifties
the following are some of those who were in charge:
Clarinda Crawford, Almira Churchill, Sarah Jane
Haley, John "Wilder, William Davidson, Jehiel Churchill
John Phillips, Mr. Smith, Lewis VanCamp and Thomas
Dawson.

The succession from the opening of the new school
is as follows: B. F. Jackson 1859-60, F. S. B. Wonch
1861, A. Herrick 1862-5, A. Ferrier 1866-7, Mr. Mac-

172

THE SCHOOLS OF THE TOWNSHIP

kay 1868, Mr. Brown 1869-70, Hector Baxter 1871-7,
Mr. McMain 1878-81, George Brodie 1883-5, Mr. Dows-
u-ell 1886, Mr. Flemming 1887, Ealph Brodie 1888-9,
Thomas Henderson 1890-4, Mr. Coltman 1895-6, Mr.
Connors 1897-9, Mr. W.ard 1900-1, Mr. Lamon 1903,
Miss Rutherford 1903, Mr. Raymond 1904, Mr. McMas-
ter 1904, N. F. Tomlinson 1905-7, Mr. Steele 1908,
Miss Welsh 1909, Mis^ Rogerson 1910.

The first school in Section No. 11 (Green River) was
built at Brunswick Hill in 1839 or the early thirties,
the second about the year 1848 on Lot 30, Con. 5.
The j)resent school was built in 1864 by Isaac
and Alfred Turner at a cost of $9^60. Among
the earlier teachers were Miss B. Clark, Alfred
Turner, William Millikin, Miss A. E. Jackson, William
Milne and Mr. Davis, Later there followed Miss' M.
Saunders 1865-6, J. W. Wonch, Isabella McCreight,
Miss Euphemia Poole, William Wilson, T. Hannington,
Annie Burkholder 1873-5, A. Collins 1881-3, F. A.
Beaton 1884, J. W. Ellerby 1885, S. G. Brown 1886-7,
R. R. Lawrie 1893-3, J. E. Hawkins 1894-5, Miss
Phillips 1893-4, W. M. Flumerfelt 1896-9, J. J. Mathe-
son 1900.

The "Visitors Book, S. Section No. 11, Pickering,"
dates back to 1859, and has as its first entry the visit
of Wm. Barnes of Pickering, who remarks that he "con-
siders the school well conducted." The teacher at this
time was Mr. Milliken. On March 39th, there is entered
a visit of Ebenezer Birrell, Local Supermtendent, who
"visited the school and delivered lecture." Also on
April 9th, 1861, 30th January, 1863, June 16th, 1863,
March 16th. 1864, February 7th, 1866. On February

173

PAST YEAES IN PICKERING

33rd, 1866, John Baird, Local Superintendent, and
again on August 2nd, March 21st, 1867, October 14th,
1867, April 1st, 1868, On August 23rd, 1871, William
Peattie visited the School and writes a note highly
commending the work being done.

In 1864 this entry occurs: "William Johnson,
Aurora, Visited the Skool and to their dissgrase found
the teacher and skollars fast asleep."

April 7th, 1869 : "I have visited the school and
delivered lecture and am happy to testify to the general
proficiency of the school." — Walter E. Koss, L.S.

A similar entry by Mr. Eoss, Dec. 22nd, 1869, and
April 4th, 1871, and October 12th, 1871.

A meeting was held in the school house of School
Section No. 12 on January 11, 1854. Mr. G. Barclay
was chairman and Mr. McNaughton, secretary. Donald
McPherson, John Law and Eichard Burton were elected
trustees. It was decided that each scholar should pay
Is. 3d. per month.

"It was moved and seconded and unanimously re-
solved that the Bible and Testament are fit and proper
books to be used as' school books along with the author-
ized books and are not to be excluded from this school."

On February 6th, 1854, Ezra Turner was engaged as
teacher for the rest of the year. He continued till
July, 1856. There followed Andrew Allison, till April,
1857, James Johnson till July, 1857, George Grafftey
till December, 1857, Eobert Porter 1858-62, William
Milne 1863-6, David Eoberts 1867, F. S. B. Wonch
1868-9, A. McMurray 1870, Frank Michell 1871, David
B. Nighswander, Chas. Palmer, David Young, Miss
Mackie, Miss Waring, etc.

174

THE SCHOOLS OF THE TOWNSHIP

The salary paid in this section in 1858 was one hun-
dred pounds. In 1859, Isaac Middleton furnished 17
cords of wood at 3s. 5d. a cord. In 1857, it was moved
and carried that "those who send a child or children to
this school has to bring half a cord of wood two feet long
in a week's notice or one pound." One of the items of
expense mentioned is: "Paid for letters 2s. 9d/' and
another : "Paid for postage on two letters from the
Local Supt. M."

The first school in Section No. 13 (Mount Zion),
a frame building, was erected in 1852. Up to this time
the children of this neighborhood had attended school
near Salem, where among others Joseph Gillespie and
George Gamble were teachers. The following were
the early teachers in No. 13 : Patrick Sherriff (a few
months), George Gaimble (several years), Joseph
Howell, Arch. Thompson and Robert Harper (several
years each), Arthur Johnston (in 1864-6), Miss Mc-
Gorquodale. The new brick school was built in 1876.

Among later teachers are the following: Samuel
Johnson, Thomas Doidge, Marshall Nutting, Priscilla
Jones, Hannah Eodgers, Miss McArthur, lieorge Em-
mett (now Dr. Emmett of Parkdale), Miss P. White,
Miss Cora McAvoy (now Mrs. W. J. Gregg), Miss A.
Holtby, Miss Jennie Jones, Miss Vanvalkenburg, Miss
Hambly (now Mrs. A. McAvoy), Miss C. Beswick, Miss
Morrison. Mr. Hall, Miss Hamilton, Miss Wheatman,
Miss Thompson.

If a record written in 1864 is to be trusted, public
education in Claremont was receiving attention as early
a^ the year 1825. The annual meeting of the section
(No. 15), held January 15th, 1864, is numbered the

175

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

"thirty-ninth annual meeting." Practically nothing is
known, however, of actual school life till the early forties
when an old log building standing near the spot now
occupied by the hotel was used as a school. Mr. Dow,
a Scotchman with a Scotch weakness for whiskey and
similar beverages, was one of the instructors of this
period. He was followed by a Mr. Mellis. Mr. Stokes,
father of Mr. George Stokes of Claremont, also taught
in this old building.

A building which stood just a short distance west
of the present school s'eems to have been in use for a
brief period after the one above mentioned, but its real
successor was the school erected about the middle for-
ties on the N.W. corner of Lot 30, Con. 8, (then the
Hamilton farm).

In the early part of 1848, Patrick Sherriif was the
teacher here. On March 18th the trustees resolved
"that as! the teacher has not of late conducted himself
entirely to the satisfaction of the trustees they will not
sign the agreement unless Mr. Sherriff will engage on his
part to be more sober and attentive to his school duties
than formerly and will be more cautious in using im-
prudent language to the children." A little later,
June 9th, finding that he is addicted to the "habitual
practice of attending the tavern morning, noon and
night," they decided to "quit him instanter." He was
followed in July by William Greig. He seems' to have
succeeded fairly well for a time, but in November, 1849,
the trustees (who were David Strachan. Robert Pat-
terson and Robert McFarlane) resolved "that Mr.
Greig be informed tliat the trustees have had several
complaints laid against him for inebriety and that he be

176

THE SCHOOLS OF THE TOWNSHIP

requested to be more on his guard." This information
and admonition it is recorded he received "in a proper
spirit." But soon after he took his departure to Mark-
ham. The trusitees advertised in The Globe at a cost
of 3s. 4d. for a teacher and engaged Hiram Smith for
some months. He was succeeded in May, 1850, by
William Steel, who continued till the close of the fol-
lowing year. His salary was £50, but next year, 1852,
with Alex. Mair as teacher, it was raised to £60. Then
there followed Daniel O'Brien 1853-4, and William
Bell 1854-7. In June, 1856, it was agreed to contract
with J. C. Michell to build the new school for £300 to
be built on village lot No. 36, Claremont, and Mrs.
Dow (daughter of Mr. Strathern) to be paid the sum
of £24 16s. therefor. This contract wasi duly carried
out and the school built on the lot now occupied by
Miss McFarlane's residence. Mr. Bell was succeeded in
1858 by Mr. Grafftey.

The following is the succession of teachers since

1860, Alex. Beaton (afterwards Dr. Beaton of Orillia)

1861, P. A. Switzer 1862-5, F. S. B. Wonch 1866-7, G.
H. Hopper 1868-9, R. Whiteman 1872, Frank Mitchell
1873, A Thomson 1874, William S. Armstrong and
Miss Clarke (now Mrs. Sowerby), 1875-6, Thomas A.
Edgar 1877-9, A. T. Sowerby (now Eev. Dr. Sowerby,
of Toronto), 1880-1, W. H. Leonard and Miss Emma
Woodruff 1882, C. D. Leckyer and Miss Peters 1883-4,
J. F. Argue 1885, S. G. Brown and Miss Smith 18^0,
E. R Eddy and Mrs Eddy 1891-6, A. E. Torrie and
Miss Little (now Mrs. D. Gregg) 1897-1900, W. M.
Flummerfelt 1901-5, Miss Dickenson 1901-3, Miss Heas-
lip 1904, till the present time, E. Ball 1905-9. In 1909

12 177

PAST YEAES IN" PICKEEING

the Continuation Class was added with Mr. Hicks as the
first teacher. Of this work Mr. N. F. Tomlinson and
Miss Ferguson are now in charge. Miss E. A. Forgie
joined the staff in 1909, and is still in charge of the
senior public s'chool work.

The history of School Section No. 16 (Atha),
commences with the year 1841, when a commo-
dious plank schoolhouse was erected on the S. W.
corner of Lot 32, Con. 8, owned by Nathan Bentley. It
was of the cottage roof pattern and was a very fine
school in its day. The internal arrangement was of the
old fashioned type, a desk facing the wall nearly all
around the room at which the pupils sat on backless
benches, while the smaller children weie accommodated
without desks on benches which encircled the big box
stove. The school grounds are said to have been '^com-
posed of the King's (Queen's) Highway and as much
woods as the pupils wished to roam over."

Among the earlier teachers were E. Wiseman, John
Hand, John McEwen, Miss M. A. Collins, Miss Jack-
son, William Bell, Daniel Koch, Louisa Starr and
Charity Woodruff. In 1866 Patrick Sherriff, who in
earlier years had taught in Claremont and elsewhere in
the township, was in charge. There followed Miss H.
Jarrett 1857, Thomas C. Smyth 1858, James Churchill
1859, and then T. C. Smith from 1860 to the
close of 1867. During this period the new school was
built and opened on January 1st, 1865.

Later teachers are John Doswell, 1868; P. McClel-
lan, 1869 and 1871-2; Miss Thompson 1870; Miss
Jennie Thompson, 1873-5; Miss J. Lawson, ;1876;
Miss E. Wilson, 1877; Mr. Johnson, 1878; Frank Bar-

178

THE SCHOOLS OF THE TOWNSHIP

key, 1879; Eli Wilson, 1880; Duncan Hubbard, 1881-3;

C. Forsyth, 1884; Miss Phoebe Bodie, 1885-7; Miss N.
Bell, 1888; Miss Irwin, 1889-91; E. Moorhead, 1892;
A. Poynter, 1893; T. Armstrong, 1894-5; Miss Pilkey,
1896-8; Andrew Moorhead, 1899-1900; Miss Burk,
1901-2; Miss Calvert, 1903-5; Miss Cline, 1906-7; Miss
Kidd 1908; Miss Bowers, 1909-11.

The record book of the Altona School, (now Section
No. 17), entitled "The Secretary and Treasurer's Book
for Union Section No. 3 Pickering and 5 Uxbridge,"
bears the following on its opening page :

"School Section formed 1844; School house built
1834; Number of Inhabitants 1856, 286; Unable to
read and write, about 30 per cent."

At this distance of time perhaps we may be permitted
to hope that the estimate of illiteracy was somewhat
higher than was warranted by the facts. In any case
the school was there and doubtless was doing its best
to improve the condition.

The teacher at this time and for nine or ten years
following was Mr. A. McSween. His salary for 1856
was £80 and for 1857. £85.

Before him the following men had been in charge of
the school : 0. Landing, E. Puzie, Abraham Spiker,
Charles Crocker, Hiram Smith, Charles Eogers and
John Phillips. The following are the names of suc-
ceeding teachers: Wesley Wonch, Miss M. Millard.
James Bassingthweight, Thomas Beare, Frank Sangster,
James E. Forfar, W. J. Stark, B. F. Andrews, Miss A.
Irwin, Donald Noble, M. Flummerfelt, William Hender-
son, Charles McDonald, J. M. Tran, John Yake, Miss

179

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

W. Wallace, Miss M. Leach, Miss N. B. Nicholson, Miss
A. J. Watson, Miss Annie Johnston, Miss Annie Mur-
ray.

The present School in Union School Section No. 7
(No. 3, Whitby) was built about sixty years ago. An
earlier school stood across the Ninth Concession line, a
frame building which was burned down. The first teacher
in the new school was George Weston, a Londoner, who
was engaged at a salary of £30, for which he was expected
not only to teach but to chop the wood for the heating of
the building. He was something of a sport, and under his
rather lax rule there were large opportunities for fun
but little progress in learning. He was followed by
Miss Ballard, who was a very successful teacher. The
next teacher was Michael Benson, a good man, but a
failure as a disciplinarian. Miss Weed was the next
teacher, and after her came Robert Porter, afterwards
M. P. for Huron.

180

CHAPTER XXI.
AGRICULTURE AND STOCK RAISING.

The Township of Pickering is essentially an agricul-
tural area. Its settlers early gave their attention to the
effective cultivation of the soil and the furnishing of
their farms with stock of good quality. In later years
it has taken a high place among the townships of the
province in these respects.

The settlers who came in the early thirties found that
the Wixons had large and well-tilled fields and orchards
of considerable size.

Many of the young men who came in that decade
and the following one were ploughmen, who had com-
peted in matches and taken prizes in the old country,
and as soon as fields large enough could be secured
they began to think of matching their work again with
that of their fellows. In the year 1849, a match was
held on the farm of Asa Post, between twenty men from
Scarboro and twenty from Whitby, the Scarboro men
winning; £21 was paid for the competitors' dinners at
William Palmer's, and five shillings for beer on the
field.

As early as 1850, Pickering had a township Agricul-
tural Society. The first article of the constitution
adopted on March 4th of that year reads: "This So-
ciety shall be called The Pickering Agricultural Society,
and its objects shall be to promote Agriculture, Horti-

181

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

culture, Household Arts and the Importation of
Farming Stock." Its first officers were R. A. Parker,
President; Messrs. Miller and Major, Vice-Presidents;
William Miller, Treasurer, and H. McConnochie, Secre-
tary. An Executive Committee of twenty-six members
drawn from all over the township was elected to manage
its affairs. For the year 1850 they were as follows: —

1st Ward, Asa Post, Wm. Carpenter, Rich'd Dale,
John Elliot, Henry Powell and Benjamin Locke.

2nd Ward, William Wilkie, Thomas Macrate, John
Tripp, J. Post and David Burkholder.

3rd Ward, Charles Pilkey, George McGillivray, John
Clarke, Wm. Miller and Richard Ward.

4th Ward, Robert Bell, James Whitson, James Wood-
ruff, Cospher Warren and Wm. Major.

5th Ward, Alex. Waddell, James Davidson, John
Hamilton, Elias Brown, and Wm. Mitchell.

For 1850 a Spring Show and Plowing Match were
projected, but the record does not mention their being
held.

The annual meeting was held at Thomson's Inn on
Saturday, the first day of February, when Francis Leys
was elected President and Truman P. White and Wil-
liam Major, Vice-Presidents.

The Spring Fair of 1851 is entered in the Society's
record as follows: —

April 23rd, The Spring Fair of this township was duly
held at Mr. Post's, when the following persons drew
tickets for ploughing, viz. : Men, John Leng, George
Hall, Hugh McConnochie, John Palmer, Michael Hogan,
Joseph Lawton, George Strachan and James Rawson,
and paid 2/6 each as entry money. Boys, William Mil-

182

actRicultuee and stock raising

ler, Stephen Brown, John Courtiee and Arch'd Pilkie.
The prizes were awarded as follows: — 1st prize, Joseph
Lawton, 2nd prize, George Strachan, 3rd prize, Hugh
McConnoehie. Boys : — 1st prize, John Courtiee, 2nd
prize, William Miller, 3rd prize, Arch'd Pilkie. There
were four stallions shown and premiums were awarded
as follows: — 1st, James Wren; 2nd, John Donaldson,
and 3rd, Joseph Clerk.

The next annual meeting was held at "Sterling's
Hotel, Norwood," (Greenwood), on January 7th, 1852.
The officers elected were, — President, Ebenezer Birrell.
Esq.; Vice-Presidents, John Clerk and William Major,
Treasurer, John Elliot, secretary. Hector Beaton.

A motion carried at this meeting was to the effect
"that the Spring Show shall be held at Peter Head's
Hotel in the village of Canton, and the Fall Show to be
held at J. C. Sterling's Hotel, Norwood."

In this year the Society's subscription list totalled
£44 and the government grant amounted to £22. These,
with a balance from the preceding year and entrance
fees, provided a revenue of over £83. Of this £13 was
awarded in premiums at the spring show and £52 at
the fall show, and the printing bill was very nearly
three pounds.

This Society continued to flourish for many years,
having a large and influential membership, and con-
ducting matches and shows which evidently enjoyed
great popularity. The Presidents were men of prom-
inence, as will be seen from the following list: Eben-
ezer Birrell, 1852-9; T. P. White, 1860-2; James Mc-
Creight, 1863-5 and Joseph Wixon, Jr., 1866.

In the latter year the society arranged for perma-

183

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

nent show grounds and buildings. Greenwood put up a
strong plea for the honor of having the grounds in
that village, presenting to the Society a subscription of
$751.50. It was

"Moved by John Haight and seconded by Joseph
Jones that the offer of the inhabitants of Greenwood
be accepted. The motion was lost on a division.^'

"Moved by John Haight and seconded by R. Fuller,
that the offer made by James Hubbard of four acres
of land at $350 and a subscription of $238 by the inhabi-
tants of Brougham and vicinity as part payment of the
same be accepted. Carried."

"It was moved by Daniel Thornton and seconded by
John Haight that a vote of thanks be tendered to the
inhabitants of Greenwood and vicinity for their very
liberal spirit manifested in getting up so large an
amount of subscription for the fair grounds and build-
ing. Carried."

The following paragraphs are from the report of the
President and Directors of the Society for the year
1854 :—

"Apart from the general improvement of the Agri-
culture of the township, the introduction of a new im-
portation of sheep of the Leicester and Cotswold breed
by Messrs. William and John Miller, and that the im-
ported heavy horses George Buchanan and Merry Farmer
have both been serving in the township during the last
season, together with the rapid spread and increase of
Turnip Husbandry in the township and the perfection
to which the cultivation of that crop is in many in-
stances carried, are instances of our forward progress.

"The Spring Show of the Society was appointed at

184

AGEICULTTJRE AND STOCK RAISING

Claremont and was held on the 2^th day of April, when
a very large assembly of deeply interested farmers and
mechanics took place. The show of Stock was good, and
that of implements the most superior which we have
yet had, and we flatter ourselves that the arrangements
which were made met with general approbation.

"The ploughing match took place upon the 25th day
of April in a field kindly given by Mr. William Miller
for that purpose.

"Your President, being instructed by the Directors,
having corresponded with seven or eight of the most
celebrated breeders of horned cattle, learned that a bull
of two years old was to be had of Mr. Wade, near Co-
bourg, a meeting of the directors legally called took
place at Mr. J. C. Sterling's — seven present — upon the
7th of June, when it was resolved that a deputation of
Messrs. Thomas Annan and George Milne should pro-
ceed to Cobourg and purchase said bull, if they, when
they saw him, should judge that he would be suitable
to the Society. These gentlemen kindly undertook the
mission, and purchased the bull, named Lord Elgin.
When the directors met on the 21st day of June, they
resolved that the said bull should be sold for the good of
the Society under proper limitations and conditions
drawn out and read as the articles of sale, which took
place upon that day. He was purchased by Mr. J. C.
Sterling.

"The fall show was held upon the 18th day of October
at J. C. Sterling's, Greenwood, when a still increasing
interest seemed to be manifested by the general public
as well as by the members of the Society. The Stock,
Produce and Manufactures which were exhibited were

185

PAST YEARS IN TICKEPtlNG

of the first order and although the Fancy Work De-
partment was small it was of great excellence.

"The total amount paid in premiums at the Snring
Show was £13 5s., at the Fall Show £3G 10s.

"The Directors in concluding their report strongly
recommend that the premiums to be awarded for those
elegant works of utility and art which are generally
exhibited by our fair friends, the Ladies of this Society,
be particularly mentioned in the programme of the Fall
Show and such list be made as large and liberal as
possible."

The Township Fair at Brougham continued to be a
popular event for many years, the last one being held
in the year 1889.

Graham Bros.

No name is better known in the annals of stock-
raising in Canada than that of "Graham Bros., of
Claremont." Their father, Eichard Graham, settled
on Lot 23, Con. 9, about the year 1870, and immed-
iately began to give special attention to the breeding
of horses. His first importation of three or four horses
was made in 1873. Two years later his reputation as
an importer became established when he brought out
"Royal Exchange," a splendid Clydesdale, which won
in the two years he was owned by Mr. Graham eighteen
first prizes and two championships, and at the end of
that time was sold to Mr. Beith of Bowmanville for
$3,000. In 1880, he imported another horse which took
high rank, namely "Prince Arthur." This animal
stood first and champion twice at Toronto and was later
sold to Mr. James Horton of Clinton, Ont. This was

186

THE MATCHLESS McQUEEN
In his twenty-third year.

AGRICULTURE AND STOCK RAISING

Mr. Graham's last importation. He died in the fol-
lowing year. But the business was left in capable
liands. His sons, Robert, William and Thomas, had
been in training for some years and under their direc-
tion the business has continued to flourish and to ex-
pand far beyond the most enthusiastic dreams of the
earlier days.

The brothers' first importation was made in 1883,
when fifteen horses were brought over. Four years
later they imported "MacQueen," then two years old, a
horse destined in, succeeding years to take the very
highest rank among Clydesdales. Keeping him for two
years, they sold him to Ogilvie of Madison, Wisconsin,
and he remained on American soil till 1899, when he
was re-purchased by Graham Bros. During this period
he was shown at the World's Columbian Exposition,
at Chicago, and there, as on every other occasion when
he was shown, he stood first in his class. On that occa-
sion for the only time in his career he was beaten for the
championship. Since returning to Canada "MacQueen"
has seen ten more years of life and service, and now
in the extreme weakness of old age is well cared for in
the Cairnbrogie stable. It is not too much to say that
"MacQueen" has been for many years the best known
draft horse in America, if not in the world. And his
former manager gave him no more than a well-deserved
title when he named him "The Matchless MacQueen."
[Since the above paragraph was written MacQueen's
career has closed. He died at Cairnbrogie on Friday,
March 24th, having nearly completed his twenty-sixth
year.]

187

PAST YEAES IN PICKERING

In 1889, at the Spring Show in Toronto and again
at the show of 1890, Graham Bros, had the champion,
MacBean being the winner on the first occasion and
MacClaskie on the second. At the Toronto Industrial
Exhibition of 1890, and again at the Spring Show of
1891, MacNeilage, another Cairnbrogie horse, held the
championship.

In 1898, Eobert Graham, the eldest of the three
brothers, separated from the firm, and is now a partner
in the flourishing firm of Graham and Renfrew, of Bed-
ford Park, Ontario,

In later years the business has continued to expand.
Space would fail to tell of the larger later importations
and the sweeping successes won at shows in Toronto,
Chicago and New York. While dealing mainly in
Clydesdales, in later years distinguished success has
crowned their showing of Hackneys as well.

Beside taking a leading place in the breeding and
handling of horses in Ontario they have in recent years
done a large business outside the province, their trade
embracing all parts of Canada and practically every
state of the American Union.

Thomas Graham was for three years President of
the Clydesdale Horse Association, and the firm has won
by its ability, enterprise and square dealing a secure
place in the estimation of the stock-raising world.

James I. Davidson.

James I. Davidson, a native of Aberdeenshire, came
to Canada in 1843. In October of that year he pur-
chased his farm. Lot 1, Con. 8, on which there were
then forty acres cleared. He bought a team of horses

188

JAMES i. DAVIDSON

AGEICULTUEE AND STOCK RAISING

for $165 and six cattle, two of them being cows, for
$80.

The foundation of his herd of Shorthorns was laid in
1860, by the purchase of the two cows, Rolla, bred by
the late John P. Wheeler, of Scarboro, and Cherry, bred
by the late George Miller, of Markhara, both descendants
of imported stock. In 1871, acting in conjunction with
John Dryden of Whitby, he imported five heifers of the
Cruickshank herd from Sittyton. In 1874, twenty
animals were brought across, and in the following year
Mr. Davidson made his first sale of Cruickshank cattle
to the United States, a business which rapidly expanded
and became very remunerative. In 1881, Mr. David-
son personally selected fourteen animals in Scotland,
many of which after crossing the water found their way
into leading American herds. From this date until
the outbreak of pleuro-pneumonia at quarantine, with
yearly importations, 185 animals in all were brought
over from the Cruickshank herd.

And Mr. Davidson's attention was not confined to
cattle. In 1865, he purchased the well-known imported
Clydesdale mare. Darling. She had three foals and
then unfortunately died, but her daughter. Darling 2nd,
had nine foals, which all sold well, the lowest price
being $1,000, which was for a yearling.

Mr. Davidson maintained an active and enthusiastic
interest in the Cruickshank breed on to old age and took
considerable satisfaction in the confirmation through
later years of the wisdom of his early judgment when
that breed was at its day of small things. He died in
1902. At the dispersion sale of his stock 48 head were
sold for $10,165, an average of $211.

180

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

Arthur Johnston.

In 1867 Arthur Johnston of Greenwood began
farming, and from the earliest years gave attention to
breeding. Seven years later he visited Scotland and
made his first importation of Shorthorns, the animals
being personally^ selected from some of the leading
herds. From this time, acting for a number of years
in conjunction with his brother-in-law, David Birrell,
he continued to make yearly importations, several times
bringing out as many as twenty animals in one shipment.
While from time to time disposing of considerable num-
bers to various parts of Canada and the United States,
he persevered in building up his home herd in numbers
and of the first quality. On several occasions he shipped
single car-loads of $5,000 value and once a single pur-
chaser bought from him to the amount of $7,500 in a
single two-car shipment. At one time there were in
the home herd as many as one hundred and thirty pure-
bred shorthorns.

The success of the herd is indicated not only by the
extensive trade but equally by the results in the prize
ring. In 1891, 1892 and 1893, the champion bulk at
the Toronto Industrial Exhibition were from Mr. John-
ston's farm, and the shorthorn cows holding the cham-
pionship for the years 1893 and 1894 were bred there
also.

In the importation of 1899 were three notably fine
young bulls. Mystic Archer, Merryman and Chief of
Stars, which did much to add to the reputation of the
lierd in later years.

Besides shorthorns, Mr. Johnston gave considerable
attention to the importation of Clydesdale horses and

190

AGEI CULTURE AND STOCK RAISING

pure-bred sheep, and took an active part in the work
of the various organizations for the advancement of the
stock industry in Canada, being for three terms hon-
ored with the Presidency of the Dominion Shorthorn
Breeders' Association. In 1910, Mr. Johnston retired
from farming and now makes his home in the village
of Brooklin.

The Millers of Brougham.

When priority of interest and practical activity in
breeding and importing stock is considered, the palm
must unquestionably be yielded to the Millers, of
Brougham. When John Miller came out from Scot-
land in 1835, he brought with him for his uncle, George
Miller of Markham, a number of Leicester sheep and
pure bred swine, and from the early years of his resi-
dence in Pickering gave much attention to breeding.
In 1854, the first importation was made, two Short-
horns and one Galloway, of which the former won first
and second place respectively at the first Provincial
Show held that year in London. In the same year he
brought over his first Clydesdale, Eob Roy, followed
six years later by Black Douglas, one of whose descen-
dants won first and sweepstakes at the Provincial Shew
in 1863. In 1867, Nelly Bly 3nd was purchased for
$1,000, after she had won first at St. Louis, and became
the foundation of the Nelly Bly family now found in
Canada. In 1870 and 1871, further important addi-
tions to the herd were made, among which were Lady
Oxford, which sold for $2,500, and Lady Juliet, which
sold for $2,000. In 1889 the herd numbered fifty fe-

191

PAST YEARS IN PICKEEING

males and ten males, the head of the herd being the
splendid bull, Vice-Consul, which -was shown eleven
times> taking first every time. Equal progress was being
made in the importation and breeding of Clydesdales
during these years. One of the most important horses
was the far-famed Comet, well-known in Ontario for
twenty years. In 1875, he showed four imported mares
at five different shows and won twenty prizes. In 1882,
he imported four, in 1883, thirteen, in 1884, nine, and
in 1885, five. In the latter year he sold a yearling colt
for $2,500, the highest price paid up to that time for a
Canadian bred Clydesdale.

After 1889, the largest importations were in 1892,
when practically the whole of the produce of the Cruick-
sliank cows selected by Mr. William Duthie came to
Thistleha, and in 1900, when a select lot from the
Uppermill herd were imported. Througlhout this whole
period considerable attention had also been given to
sheep — Cotswolds, Leicesters and Shropshires. In 1887
their flock of the latter won the silver medal at Toronto.
In 1893 there were on the farm seventy Shorthorns,
forty horses and fifty Shropshires, while in the twelve
months preceding they had sold over a thousand Shrop-
shires. From the early seventies John Miller's son,
Robert, was closely associated with his father in the
management of the business and, inheriting his father's
sound judgment and executive ability, soon became a
recognized master of the craft. Eventually he removed
to Stouffville, where he is still well-known as one of
the best stockmen of the province.

On John Miller's death in 1904, the Thistleha herd of
Shorthorns was disposed of by public sale, when thirty-

192

AGRICULTUEE AND STOCK RAISING

eight females and ten males brought an average price of
$327, one bull, Langford Eclipse, bringing $1,425.

After this the farms were divided, John Miller, Jr.,
retaining Thistleha and starting a new herd there, and
the younger brothers, George, Andrew and Henry,
moving to the farm known as Poplar Hall, and starting
a herd under the names of Miller Bros.

Since this time they have had no small share of suc-
cess in stock-raising, whether estimated by prizes or by
prices. In 1908, a heifer from their herd was grand
champion at Toronto and was sold in February, 1909,
for $2,500. In the Fat Stock Sale of February, 1910,
they had the two highest priced males and the two high-
est priced females. At Toronto, 1910, they showed
Meadow King, a two-year-old bull, which won the grand
championship, and after the Show sold him to Heart's
Delight Farm, Chazy, N.Y., for $5,000, the highest
I price ever paid for a Canadian bred bull. In the Fat
' Stock Sale this year (1911) nine heifers from their herd
averaged $984, the highest being Bridal Bouquet, which
brought $3,600. So the Shorthorns are still in the run-
ning, and the Millers have not lost their skill in hand-
ling them.

It may be of interest to note that the practical worth
of the work done by the Millers was early recognized
in the township. In t)he report of the Pickering Agricul-
tural Society for 1858, the following resolution was
enthusiastically included : —

"This Society, taking into consideration the fact that
the Messrs. Miller of this Township have for a long
series of years devoted much of their time and capital
to the importation of farming stock of all kinds and

13 193

PAST YEABS IN PICKERING

that by this means they 'have in an eminent way pro-
moted the success of this Society and the great im-
provement of the breed of our livestock, both within
and without the membership of this Society, that these
gentlemen in all respects have conducted their business
in a most exemplary and praiseworthy manner; this
Society under these circumstances feels great gratifica-
tion in supporting and carrying this Eesolution of
hearty thanks to these gentlemen, and expression of its
lively approbation of their conduct, and personal esteem
for them as worthy and patriotic members of the body
politic. More particularly we join in the best wishes
for our venerable and much esteemed friend, Mr. Wil-
liam Miller, the father of that respected family."

Other Importers and Breeders.

In 1854, the year of the Millers' first importation,
William Coctirane, who had spent seven years with
them, also brought out a Clydesdale stallion, "Bay
Wallace." He continued to handle good stock and later,
about 1878, imported some Cotswold sheep.

David Birrell after the dissolution of partnership
with Arthur Johnston continued to give attention to
breeding and has maintained a good herd of Short-
horns.

Eobert Miller, of Pickering, brother of John Miller,
imported Clydes and Cotswold sheep, and also handled
pure-bred cattle. His son, William Miller, keeps up
the good reputation of the farm in this respect.

W. G. Scott, of Claremont, a nephew of the Millers,
has a good herd of Shorthorns and has been active for
some years in the breeding of Clydesdales.

194

JOHN MILLER

AGEICULTUEE AND STOCK RAISING

The late William Major of Whitevale, for the last
twenty or twenty-five years of his life, was a well-known
and successful breeder of Shorthorns and Clydes, and
is being followed in these lines by his son, W. H. Major.

The late John Bell, of Atha, made stock-raising for
many years a prominent feature of his farming activi-
ties.

John Wilson of Green Eiver, and his son, J. Benson
Wilson, have been known for a considerable period as
owners of good herds of Shorthorns.

Eobert Milne and his sons, of the '6th Con., have for
years been prominent in the central part of the town-
ship as handlers of good stock.

Among men in the north of the township few have
had more success in stock-raising than Richard Ward,
of Balsam, whose herd was disposed of on his retire-
ment from farming within the present year.

During the past seven or eight years, G. Malcolm
Forsyth has had considerable success in breeding
Shorthorns and Clydesdales. Brilliant Rose, a yearling
heifer bred by him, won first in her class, first for best
butcher's animal and also the grand championship at
the last Ottawa Winter Fair.

For a number of years past, F. L. Green of Green-
wood has specialized in Jerseys and Yorkshire pigs.
He has now on his farm eighty-four Jerseys, one of the
largest herds in the country.

W. G. Barnes of Green River, besides doing good
work with Shorthorns, has given special attention to
breeding trotting horses and has been very successful.

A. E. Major of Whitevale has specialized in the
l)reeding of Shetland and other ponies.

195

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

This chapter must not be closed without reference to
the fact that a citizen of Pickering, Nelson Wagg, of
Claremont, has in recent years distinguished himself in
the art of ploT\dng. On the 4th of November, 1902, he
headed the list at the King plowing match. The fol-
lowing day he defeated the best plowmen of Markham
and Scarboro at Ellesmere, winning as a prize a splendid
Ayrshire heifer, given for the best plowed land in the
competition. And on November 11th he won his greatest
success at Unionville, when he was placed first in com-
petition with the best plowmen of the continent, win-
ning a handsome gold medal emblematical of the
"Championship of America' and a cash prize of one
hundred dollars. His title to the championship is still
undisputed.

196

CHAPTER XXII.
PROGRESS IN TEMPERANCE.

Pickering Township has had its share in the decided
advance in Temperance sentiment and practice which
has marked the last sixty years. In the earlier half of
the nineteenth century barn-raisings, logging-bees, wed-
dings and other popular gatherings were practically
without exception occasions for the free use of intoxi-
cants. There was of course occasional protest, but the
liquor was considered la necessity and the protestants
were regarded as total-abstinence fanatics.

In 1864 the township had its first opportunity of
voting on a prohibitive measure when the Dunkin Act
was adopted by a majority of one. The Act did not go
into operation, however, being quashed on a technicality.
Only one polling place was provided for the whole town-
ship, viz., the town hall at Brougham; and the voting
was continued for four days. As there was no voting
by ballot it was known as time went on exactly how
the vote stood. Shortly before the final close of the
poll the vote was a tie and all the available votes ap-
peared to be in. At this juncture the late John Michell,
of Claremont, drove into Brougham on his way from
Toronto with a load. The temperance party knowing
him to be favorable to the Act escorted him into the
hall, while their opposers endeavored to detain him for

197

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

a few minutes till it should be too late. After a des-
perate struggle he was pushed through the dense crowd
which filled the hall, reaching the voting table with but a
fragment or so of his coat remaining, and had his vote
recorded, making Pickering's first vote on the question
a victorjr for Teir.perance.

In 1877, the Dunkin Act was submitted to vote in
the County of Ontario and was carried by a substantial
majority. Pickering Township again recorded itself in
favor of the Act. After remaining in force for three
years it was repealed by the County.

Five years later, in 1885, the Scott Act was adopted
in the County, in which vote Pickering gave a majority
of 288 votes in favor of the Act, but like its predeces-
sor the Dunkin Act it was repealed after three years
operation.

Next came the Ontario Local Option measure, which
was first submitted to the electors of the township on
January 4th, 1892, and was carried by a vote of 560
for, to 497 against, majority 63. As to the Dunkin
Act, technical objections were raised which were upheld
by the Courts and the by-law quashed. On May 30th
of the same year, the electors for a second time signified
their wish to have prohibition by carrying Local Option
by a vote of 628 for, to 557 against, majority 71. As
thus carried, the by-law was not attacked and the
measure was brought into force on May 1st, 1893.

On January 4th, 1897, a vote was taken on a By-law
to repeal the Local Option By-law, but the vote showed
a majority of 58 in favor of retaining the Act — 629
votes were oast against repeal and only 571 in favor of
it. Some persons personally interested in the matter

198

PROGRESS m TEMPERANCE

were not satisfied with this vote and appealed to the
County Judge for a scrutiny, which being held and it
being found that a number of persons had voted on the
by-law who were not actually qualified, the vote was set
aside. This left it open to have the matter of repeal
re-submitted to the electors. On Nov. 17th in the same
year (1897), the second vote was talien and stood 587
for, 575 against, a majority of 12 for repeal. This was
the only time in its history when the township gave a
vote adverse to the prohibition principle and the result
in this case is largely accounted for by the fact that
many who really stood on the temperance side were so
discouraged by failures through unimportant techni-
calities that they were much inclined to doubt the possi-
bility of getting a by-law passed that would not be
quashed in the courts.

Following this repeal the license system obtained
until on January 1st, 1906, Local Option was again
adopted by a vote of 694 for, to 487 against, a majority
of 205. Again application was made to quash the by-
law on technical grounds. On hearing the application
an order was made by Chief Justice Meredith quashing
it. The Corporation appealed to the divisional Court
and the order quashing the by-law was set aside. Ap-
plication was then made to the Court of Appeal for
leave to appeal from the decision of the divisional Court.
Leave was refused and the litigation ceased, so the Local
I Option By-law continued in force in the municipality.

In addition to the local votes above noted Pickering
Township on two other occasions went on record by
vote as in favor of prohibition of the liquor traffic, viz. :

1. On January 1st, 1894, when a provincial plebiscite

199

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

was taken, when ^652 male and 40 female voters marked
their ballots for prohibition, while 232 male and 5
female voters registered against, a total majority of 266.

2. In the Dominion Plebiscite taken in 1898, the
electors of the township gave a substantial majority in
favor of prohibition.

An attempt was made in Jan., 1909, to repeal the
Local Option By-law, but the vote resulted in a re-
affirmation of the decision of Jan., 19/06, by a majority
of 320.

200

CHAPTER XXIII.
PICXERINO AT PLAY.

Pickering has not existed as a ulace for the organized
life of civilized beings for a hundred years without
there being found within them room for recreation
and amusement. The simple and homely gatherings
of the older days perhaps would compare poorly with
the "assemblies'^ of the twentieth century so far as dress
and elaborate external display are concerned, but they
were times of genuine social enjoyment and merry-
making and offered satisfactory relief from the mon-
otony and isolation of farm life in the early "clear-

ances."

In the spring there were the "taffy-pulls" and the
"sugaring-off" parties, when the forest was lit with the
fire^ that crackled merrily beneath the great kettles,
and many a joyous echo awakened by the shouts and
laughter of the young people. In the summer, there
were the logging bees, a term which must be understood
to signify not merely a long and stiff day's work with
the oxen and the hand-spikes in the "fallow," but equally
a night's merriment in the form of an old fashioned
dance that almost invariably followed. No community
wasi without one or more more or less efficient per-
formers on the violin (or to be true to the situation
"fiddlers") who never wearied of supplying the musi-

201

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

cal motive power till the wee sma' 'oors were far ad-
vanced, and who not infrequently prolonged their melo-
dies till they greeted the rosy dawn in the eastern sky.
Simple their dances were, needing none of the tuition
of the professional and scarcely infected if at all with
the features which render some of the terpsichorean
evolutions of later days objectionable. In the autumn,
there were the paring bees, ever notable occasions for
courting and merriment among the youths and maidens.
In the winter there were sleighing parties, which never
were quite perfect unless there were an upset, and which
always gathered the young folk in some previously
selected rendezvous for an evening's fun.

There were no Scarboro Beaches nor Midways, with
their strident noises and their gaudy tinsel, in those
days and the Niagara excursions had not been dreamed
of, but in 1846 Pickering watched the forerunner of
the modern show pass along the Kingston road in the
form of a large circus, almost certainly the first that
vislited Upper Canada. It is not recorded that they
"showed" in Pickering, but they did at Gates's, farther
up the road. Yet curious eyes watched their passing
through this township and it is said that at the Rouge
a heavy wagon or "chariot" drawn by six horses got
down in the mud and resisted all efi'orts to draw it out.
Several elephants formed part of the equipment and they
were pressed into service. By their united e^orts
applied on the "push behind" principle, the vehicle was
hurled almost on to the backs of the astonished horses
and the show went on.

It could not have been otherwise than that the active
and enthusiastic spirits among the early settlers should

302

PICKERING AT PLAY

have enjoyed the pleasures of hunting and fishing.
There was no need to take out a license, pack mys-
terious hampers and take passage to Parry Sound or
Haliburton. Game of many kindsi was abundant in the
forest surrounding every clearance and the streams: were
never fished out. In the earliest quarter of the century
wolves were to be met with and on into the middle
years bears were often seen. The streams in the north
of the township fairly teemed with trout, and the lake
salmon used to make their way up some of the southern
ones as far asi the fifth concession. The late Henry
Major used to relate having been able in his young days
to go out behind the barn on his farm where now there
is no water, but where a stream of considerable size then
flowed, and to spear lake salmon with a pitch fork.
Mrs. Wilson, daughter of Samuel Major, confirms the
statement and tells of her father often catching salmon
below the dam on the stream which supplied power for
his mill. But with the deforestation of the country the
streams have dwindled, and lake salmon come to the
Whitevale tables only by way of the canning factory.
The Nimrods of the earlier years of the century have
left no records of their mighty deeds, but there are
still those who remember the prowess of Samuel Boyer,
who lived in Pickering in the fifties and whose delight
was in the pursuit of the wild things of the forest.
He was widely known as a bee-hunter, but often fol-
lowed bigger game. Before coming to Pickering he had
lived near Stouffville, and in the year 1848 it is related
by Mr. James Lawson that .he, then a boy of eight, was
sent over one morning to announce to Mr. Boyer that
a bear was in a field north of the school house. Mr.

203

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

Boyer soon got the dogs started and the bear, followed
by them and as many villagers as could get away, struck
northwards toward Musselman Lake. The old hunter,
knowing the circle the bear was likely to take, did not
follow, but told the boy to come with him and pro-
ceeded to a piece of hardwood bush near the ninth con-
cession, where they sat down on a log to wait. Bruin
meantime bad been travelling round by the sixth of
Whitchurch, down into Markham near Ratcliffe's mill
and then east toward this very bush, never suspecting
any danger there. The hunters had not long to wait.
Soon he came bowling along and was close to them be-
fore he noticed their presence. Then he seemed to feel
the earth too warm for him and went up a lodged
basswood, but it was a vain expedient. The old hunter's
unerring rifle went off and the bear dropped lifeless to
the ground.

Among the heroes of the fishing rod in the sixties
was auld Tommy Thomson, who had rented his farm
(Lot 13, Con. 8) and devoted his later years to his
favorite sport. Many a day did he whip the streams of
the upper part of the township which then abounded in
speckled trout, and many a fine basket of beauties
did he bring home with him at evening. Sometimes
the lure of the sport took him farther afield. He had
an old mare wliich bore a high reputation for speed,
being credited with bringing the old man and a barrel
of salt on one occasion from Toronto to Claremont in
five hours. She was often commissioned to draw him
and his crony, Peter Macnab, of Claremont, to French-
man's Bay, for a day after the pike. When such an
excursion had been planned nothing was allowed to

204

PICKEEING AT PLAY

interfere. They have been known to start at four
o'clock in the morning in a blinding rain storm, but
would return similing at tea time with their catch, the
bigger half of which, Tommy always averred, had met
their fate on his hook.

As might be expected many a little circle of cronies in
the old days beguiled the winter evenings with the check-
erboard. And while none of the local champions have
troubled to write their names on the professional scroll
there have been many who, by continued practice, won
for themselves no small degree of skill in handling the
*'men." In the sixties there was a small coterie in the
north of the township, which used to go over to Ash-
burn for informal matches with a similar group there.
Eobert Porter, who was teaching on the 7th Conces-
sion, and Duncan Macnab of Claremont were two of
those who were far enough advanced in the art to rep-
resent Pickering talent abroad. Eev. John Baird was
well-known locally asi a player of acknowledged skill.

Among pleasure giving institutions in the township
a prominent place must be given to musical Bands,
which have been organized in various centres.

About the year 18G0, Whitevale's first band was or-
ganized with Johnny McPhee as leader. Its members
were L. Herrick, James Anthony, E. Anthony, H.
Windsor, J. Ingles, C. Tran, George Burton, George
Hastings, W. Burton, A. Herrick and W. Wilson. This
;band took first prize in tournaments at Whitby and
Sharon and second at Markham. It was disbanded in
the later sixties. A second band was organized in the
year 1873, with Samuel Nighswander as leader, who,
on his decease, was succeeded by Uriah Percy. Among

205

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

the members of this band were E. Vanzant, J. Perkins,
F. Burton, T. Burton, H. Burton, W. Pennock, S.
Pennock, F. G. Percy, W. Burton, G. Burton, T. Pingle
and J. Mghswander. They were dislbanded in the early
eighties. In 1887 a band was organized in connection
with the Ancient Order of Foresters with Uriah Percy
as Leader. Among its members were A. G. Wliite,
A. Percy, J. Fowler, J. A. Pugh, Hugh Pugh, F.
Burton, L. H. Graham, W. Besse, S. Pennock, C.
Lehman, T Ward, C Fenton and L. Hagerman. Mr.
Percy having removed to Markham, A. C. Tresham
was engaged as conductor in 1890, and that fall the
band won first prize at Markham and the following year
first again at Uxbridge. They disbanded in 1896.

Mr. Percy was also leader of a band organized in
Brougham in 1883, which existed for several years, and
, of one organized in Green River in 1896, which was
maintained for about nine years. Beside a number who
had played in one or other of the Whitevale bands, this
band included the following: Alph. Hoover, James
Doten, J. Calvert, A. Ellice, E. Ellice, G. Ferrier, R.
Barton and J. Spence.

The first band in Claremont was organized in Oc-
tober, 1875, and first played in public, in their own
village, on the evening of February 3rd, 1876. Their
leader was George Lorimer. The men composing the
band were: E. W. Evans, Josiah Evans, Robert W.
Ward, Thomas Hopkins, George Coates, Duncan Mor-
gan, John Gregg, Fred Farmer, Edward Pugh, James
Evans, Thomas Stokes and Edward Booker.

On the following 12th of July the band played at the
Orange celebration in Claremont, and on October 12th,

206

PICKERING AT PLAY

they played at the Brougham Fair. The following
year they played at the Orange celebration in Whitby,
and on one occasion a year or two later they crossed the
lake with a picnic party to Niagara. About the same
time a band was organized in Pickering Village. They
are recorded to have played in Claremont in the month
of January, 1876. The villages of Greenwood and
Kinsale also had bands organized about this period.

Some years later a second band was organized in
Claremont, under the leadership of E. W. Evans, now
of Whitby. Among its members were John Gregg,
Duncan Morgan, David Gregg, Josiah Evans, Thomas
Paterson, George Coates, John Coates, James McFar-
lane and Evans Ward. Still later a third, denominated
the Citizens Band, was organized under George Coates
and continues to do good work.

In the early seventies cricket became very widely
popular and continued to be played in many village
centres for a number of years: Greenwood had a flour-
ishing club, with Arthur Johnston, Thomas Sterling,
Charles Sterling, William Ready and William Mc-
Kettrick among the leading players. In Brougham,
the names of Lamareaux, Stevenson and Matthews
were prominent, and in Claremont, Duncan Macnab,
the three Farmer brothers and Noah Sink were enthus-
iastic cricketers.

A match was played August 9th, 1873, at Clare-
mont between the Brougham and Claremont teams,
which resulted in favor of the latter by four runs and
nine wickets to fall. On the 30th of the month a return
match was played at Brougham, which was again won
by the Claremont team. The players in these games

207

PAST YEARS IN PICKEEING

were, from Claremont, E. Farmer, A. Taylor, G. James,
E. Farmer, D. Palmer, W. Hood, P. Digby, R. Lan-
caster, D. Macnab, W. Benze and Noah Sink, and from
Brougham, H. Lamareaux, W. Stevenson, W. Bodell, S.
Stevenson, J. Murphy, F. Bentley, W. Wilkinson, A.
Johnson, W. Woodruff and M. Linton.

A little later Pickering village took up cricket, a
club being organized in March, 1888. Their officers
were Hon, President, J. D. Edgar, M.P., President,
Dr. R. M. Bateman, Vice-President, Dr. J. H. East-
wood, Secretary, R. A. Bunting, Captain, E. R. Eddy,
Curator, E. Broad. Joining the Ontario Association
they won from East Toronto on August 25th, 1888,
and played in the final game for the championship of
the province, missing the victory by only a narrow
margin. Among the leaders were W. Gormley, J. T.
Clarke, J. S. Winnacott, John Gormley and Thomas
Andrew.

Baseball seems never to have taken root in Pick-
ering's athletic soil, but in the eighties it enjoyed a brief
popularity in Claremont, there being at one time two
clubs, a senior and a junior. Alexander Taylor, Wil-
liam Morden and Fred Farmer were among the Knights
of the Diamond at that time.

About the same time quoits were enthusiastically
indulged in in the same village. One of the players is
recalled by the stereotyped form which his commen-
dation of a good throw almost invariably took. Stooping
in an attitude of anxious intentness till the quoit fell,
he would spring up and fling up his arms with the
shout, "That's the pinkey-doodle." Among the quoit
players were N. Burton, C. Russell and T. Pilkey.

308

PICKEEING AT PLAY

During the past thirty years football has been the
reigning summer sport in the township, and among the
foremost in the game have been the teams organized
in the neighborhood of Green Eiver. The Beavers were
organized there by W. G. Barnes in 1883. Their first
officers were P. K. Hoover, President, W. J. Turner,
Vice-President, J. Spence, Secretary, and W. G. Barnes,
Captain. After three years with only fair success they
began in 1886 a career of victory which was prac-
tically unbroken for five years. In this period they won
nine silver cups, beside medals and other prizes. They
then disbanded, apportioning a silver cup to each of
nine men who had played in every game of the period.

In 1898, the Shamrock football club was organized.
It had among its members several of the best players
of the older team but brought into the game a large
number of younger players. Its first cup was won at
Brooklin, and after a long series of local victories it
entered the Ontario Association, under the management
of Fred. Hornshaw, and won League championships
in the years 1907, 1909, and 1910, and in the years
1907 and 1910 played in the final games of the Ontario
Association, taking second place in the province. The
Shamrocks are still in the game.

daremont's first football club was organized in 1885
; with John D. Forsyth as captain and William Murdock,
treasurer. Among the enthusiasts of that time were
Reuben Eawson, W. Mitchell, Albert Mitchell, Thomas
Johnson, G. Burgess, John Moran, James Underbill
and Eobert Mitchell. Matches were played with various
neighboring teams in the earlier years and a famous

14 209

PAST YEAES IN PICKERING

tournament held in 1886 is still vividly remembered
by many. Claremont continues to hold its place in the
football world. During the two seasons immediately
past it has held the South Ontario championship.

An institution which did a good deal to foster healthy
athletics in the township was Pickering College. The
record of their achievements has not been written, but
for a number of years Eugby, tennis and physical drill
in the splendid new gymnasium were prominent fea-
tures of its life.

In recent years, skating, curling and bowling, have
come to be popular forms of exercise. In the early
nineties a skating rink stood behind where Mr. Boyer's
present residence is in the village of Claremont, and
in 1896 it was superseded by the new rink built by Mr.
Leaper. Brougham also has a skating rink for a num-
ber of years past. Claremont has an enthusiastic curl-
ing club and a no less enthusiastic bowling club, which
may be seen at action any fine summer afternoon either
on Mr. Leaper's lawn or over at "Sandbank," whose
genial "guidman" is one of the leaders m the game.
Bowling divides with tennis and boating the attention
of the summer visitors at the Eosebank lakeside resort.

210

CHAPTEE XXIV.
ROSEBANK.

In the early sixties of the nineteenth century William
Cowan, father of the iDresent proprietor of Eosebank,
purchased the property, a part of which is now occupied
by this well-known and popular resort, from a Scotch-
man named John Pollock. In 1875 the present pro-
prietor took possession, and here two years later he
brought his bride, then Miss Mary E. PeaTce of Brant-
ford, Residing at Eosebank continuously since that
time, to their enterprise and initiative is largely due the
prosperity that has come to the property.

The history of the resort practically begins with the
year 1880, when Dr. Byron Field with his wife and
some other friends spent a part of the summer there.
Four years later the late Alexander J. Brown of To-
ronto came with his wife and family. At this period
camping in tents was the order of the day, but in 1885
Mr. Brown erected a small cook-house and in the fol-
lowing year a large sleeping-house. A pair of houses
were built in 1889 by Messrs. Jewett and Woodley and
occupied by them for two years. The cottage at the
foot of the orchard, latterly occupied by Mr. Brown and
his family, was built in the spring of 1891. They spent
in all twenty-three yeafs at Eosebank, children and
grandchildren accompanying them till Mr. Brown's

211

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

death three years ago. Among the other "old-timers"
of Rosebank are Mr. C. R. Peterkin^ who came first in
1890; Colonel Mason of the Queen's Own Rifles, with
about twenty summers at Rosebank; Mr. W. H. Field,
fifteen summers, and Mr. John Alexander, with a dozen
or more summers.

In the winter of 1897-8 a large addition was made
to the old Rosebank House to accommodate the increas-
ing numbers who were coming as guests, and in 1907-8
further renovation and enlargement took place. In re-
cent years the house has often accommodated a hundred
people.

In 1898 a pavilion was erected in the grove for the
use of picnic parties, the coming of which had come
to be an important feature of the summer life of the
resort.

For a number of years a miniature general store
was kept in the House for the accommodation of cot-
tagers and guests, but in 1907 a commodious separate
building was erected in which a large business in gro-
ceries, vegetables, small fruits and general supplies is
done during the summer months of every year.

There are now beside Rosebank House seventeen cot-
tages, which with the use of a number of tents accom-
modated last year twenty-five families, besides which
there were a very considerable number of transients
who camp for a few days.

In the summer of 1903 services were held on Sunday
afternoons for a number of weeks by Rev. H. C Cro-
zier, then of Melville Church, Scarboro, which were
well attended and much appreciated. On the settle-

21^

ROSEBANK

ment of Eev. W. R. Wood in Dunbarton in 1904, it
became a part of the regular work of that charge to
conduct services at Rosebank during the months of
July and August each year. This is continued in the
pastorate of Rev. A. L. McFadyen.

Further extensions and improvements of the resort
are already projected. During the present season two
cottages will be added, and a large reservoir will be
built on the hill, to be filled with water pumped from
the lake, thus ensuring a satisfactory supply. The
instalment of electric light may be expected to follow
later, and in all that ministers to the comfort and con-
venience of its guests Rosebank may be expected to keep
in the forefront of the advances of the twentieth cen-
tury.

213

■ CHAPTER XXV.

PICKERING PEOPLE.

Adair. — Dr. James Adair began to practise in Dun-
barton, and continued there for five years, living most
of the time in Mr. Tripp's house, but occupying for a
short time the house which later was secured as the
Presbyterian Manse.

Allison. — Andrew Allison came from Ayrshire,
Scotland, in 1832, and lived for two years in Cobourg,
after which he moved to Lot 30, B. P., where he lived
till his death in 1873. He had seven children, Jane,
James, John, Margaret, Andrew, William and Janet,
of whom only one, Margaret (Mrs. A. Elliott of Agin-
oourt) survives.

His son, Andrew Allison, was born in 1834 and was
well known for many years in Pickering as a teacher.
He graduated from Toronto Normal School in 1855,
and first taught at Atha. Later he had charge of the
schools at Green River and Whitevale. After this he
gave up teaching and moved to Lot 28, Con. 2, where
he lived till his death in 1899. Mrs. Allison, with her
two daughters, Marjory and Violet, and two sons, An-
drew and Joseph, now live on Lot 21, Con. 1. The other
members of the family are Anna, Janet, Archie and
Olive (Mrs. S. Mitchell of Billings, Montana).

214

PICKEEING PEOPLE

Annan. — Thomas Annan and his wife, Isabella Cam-
eron, came from Fifeshire, Scotland, and settled on
Lot 28, B. F., in 1833, and lived their lives there. Of
their family of eight sons and three daughters, two,
James and Alexander, died in childhood. The others
are Eobert, who farmed near Pickering village till his
death, Dec. 3rd, 1905, Jane, (Mrs. James Andrew),
still living in Pickering, Thomas and John, who live in
Dunbarton, Helen, (Mrs. William Thorn), living on
Lot 30, B. F., Isabella, who died at Dunbarton Oct. 12th,
1910, Peter, who still occupies the south half of the
old homestead, David, who lives at Pickering and An-
drew on Lot 22, B.F.

Annis. — Charles Annis, the founder of the Annis
family, came from Massachusetts in 1793. He settled
at what is now Oshawa Harbor, but on July 30th, 1807,
bought from David W. Smith Lot 6, B.F., of Pick-
ering, paying £28 15s. His son, Levi Annis, married
Ehoda, daughter of Koger Conant and moved to this
farm. Here they had their full share of pioneer exper-
iences, grinding corn in a hollow stump, taking wheat
by canoe, a tedious and dangerous journey to the Bay
of Quinte to be ground, beating off the wolves from
their camp fire with glowing brands, enduring all the
loneliness and privation of first settlers. Once their
house was burned down, and Mrs. Annis, lying sick
within it, was saved scarcely a moment before the roof
fell in. The settlers made much of what ready money
they had by trapping muskrats, the skins of which they
sold at a York shilling apiece. In later life, Levi Annis
moved to Scarboro, where he spent his remaining years.

215

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

Annis. — Andrew Annis was born in Scarboro and
married Sarah Taylor, sister of William Taylor, of
Cherrywood. Of their children two live in Pickering,
namely, David, who married Margaret Chester, and
lives on Lot 31, Con. 5, and Cynthia (Mrs. Alex. Thom,
Lot 28, Con. 1).

Anson. — John Anson and his wife came from the
city of Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1835 to Lot 1, Con. 9.
Their family of nine all died in early life with the excep-
tion of two, Mrs. J. L. Palmer and Mr. John Anson,
of the 2nd Concession.

Barclay. — Few men were better known in the town-
ship during the first half of the nineteenth century than
Elder George Barclay. He was a native of Cupar, Fife-
shire, Scotland, and received his education at St. An-
drew's University, after which he was ordained a min-
ister of the Baptist Church. In 1801 he married Janet
Tiillis, and in 1816 came to Canada, being followed a
year later by his wife and family. He purchased Lot
16 in the 6th Con. from Elizabeth Matthews and,
building his log house, began the life of a pioneer. Much
of his time was devoted to religious work. As early
as 1821 he was laboring as the pastor of the first Bap-
tist Church in Markham, and in that year a number of
members seceded from the congregation because it fav-
ored a motion to pay him a stated salary. He trav-
elled extensively through adjoining and even distant
townships, ministering to the spiritual needs of the peo-
ple. At a later period he was one of those who organ-
ized and helped forward the work of the Disciples'

216

PICKERING PEOPLE

Church on the Kingston Eoad. Mr. Barclay died in
1857, leaving a family of five sons and four daughters.
Of his family the eldest son, George, took a some-
what active part in the political disturbances of 1837 and
was as a consequence condemned to transportation, but
was included in the amnesty afterwards proclaimed. He
removed to the county of Middlesex, where he died in
1882. The second son, James, removed to Brooklin
and afterwards to Oshawa, where he died in 1869, leav-
ing ten children, one of whom, L. T. Barclay, is the
well-known barrister and solicitor of Whitby. William,
a third son, removed to Wisconsin, where one of his
sons, David, became a County Judge. The two re-
maining sons, David L. and Eli G. Barclay, remained
in Pickering. David died in 1903 and Eli, whose life
was spent on the old homestead, in 1893. Of Eli's
family four are still living, Elizabeth (Mrs. George Bur-
ton), whose son, E. F. Burton, B.A., is Demonstrator
in Physics at Toronto University; Miss Adeline Barc-
lay, of Brougham; John, of Owen Sound, and Charles
A., who still lives on the homestead. Of Elder Barclay's
daughters, Janet (Mrs. Randall Bentley) died in 1838.
(One of her grandsons is the well-known writer, E. E.
Sheppard). Betsy (Mrs, George Miller of Markham)
died in 1871. Nancy (Mrs. Abraham Knowles, of Lot
20, B. F.), died in 1888, and Margaret (Mrs. Robert
Barrie) died some years ago at Brougham.

Barnes. — In 1836 the Barnes brothers, George and
William, came from Dublin, Ireland, to Canada, and
after spending a year about Toronto settled on Lot 33,
Con. 6, naming the farm Ballybrownogue. Erecting a

217

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

sawmill they operated it for several years together, but
George ultimately went to Hamilton, where he engaged
very successfully in the wholesale stationery and book
business, retiring in 1870 and dying seven years later.
William built a new sawmill in 1857, which is still in
operation. In 1870 he began the manufacture of tubs,
pails, fork-handles. Two years later he included brush
handles and blocks, and in 1875 a basket-making busi-
ness was added. These he carried on successfully till
1894, when he retired from business. His wife was
the eldest daughter of the late J. MclSTeely, and their
family consisted of three sons and four daughters, all of
whom are still living. His youngest son, W. G. Barnes,
still continues the business established by his father.

Baery. — John Barry was born in Yorkshire, Eng-
land, October 15th, 1824. When a youth he came with
his parents to Canada, settling first in Whitchurch and
later in Victoria County, near Manilla. In 1845 he
married Mary Sharrard, and the following year came
to Claremont. They first lived on the farm just east
of Claremont in the 8th Concession and Mr. Barry for
a number of years carried on a successful business as a
butcher. Later he went into milling, building a saw-
mill on the creek immediately south of Claremont on
the west side of the Brock Road. In spite of reverses,
including twice the loss of his mill by fire, he perse-
vered and prospered. About 1890 he acquired some
property, including two houses near the C. P. R. sta-
tion at Claremont, and in 1891 he erected a large dwell-
ing house and store on the north side of the track. By
gradual but steady progress he became a wealthy man,

318

HECTOR BEATON

PICKEEING PEOPLE

being in later years owner of over 3y000 acres of land.
He died in 1901. Mrs. Barry and their daughter (Mrs.
D. Forsyth) still live at North Claremont.

Beaton. — Hector Beaton was born in the island of
Mull, Argyleshire, on May 5th, 1801, his father being
a sheep farmer. He received a fair education in both
Gaelic and English in the parish school, but anxious to
perfect himself in English left home at the age of
twelve, taking his departure without his father's know-
ledge, as he had refused his consent, and spent two years
in the lowlands. Eeturning, he found that his mother
was no more. After another term at school, he was
engaged as assistant teacher in his native isle and after-
ward spent about ten years in Glasgow in the employ of
a firm of manufacturing chemists.

In 1830 with his father, William Beaton, and his
brothers, Neil, Colin and John, and sisters, Mary, Mar-
garet and Flora, he came to Canada, settling in the
township of Vaughan, where his father died a few years
later. In 1834 the brothers Hector and Colin bought
the south half of Lot 31, Con. 5, on the front part of
which the village of Whitevale now stands. They lived
here through the rebellion period, but not being posted
in the politics of the country took no part.

In later years Hector Beaton's wife, who was Eachel
Mclntyre, daughter of Nicol Mclntyre, (another native
of Mull, who settled on N i/2 Lot 31, Con. 5, in the
year 1830), often recalled her vivid memory of the
events following the rebellion. Her sister Ann was
married to David Matthews, a brother of Peter Mat-
thews, who, with Lount, suffered capital punishment

219

PAST YEAES IN PICKEEING

for his share in the uprising. David Matthews was Jn
the engagement at Montgomery's Tavern and for some
time afterward was in hiding. On different occasions
parties of soldiers came to the Mclntyre homestead in
search of him. They would drive their bayonets into
the haystacks in the hope of locating him. But he was
not captured, and eventually escaped to the States, and
after the general amnesty was proclaimed returned to
the township.

In 1846 Mr. Beaton was appointed assessor and col-
lector of the township. In 1849 he was appointed as-
sessor, collector and clerk, and held the three offices for
several years. In 1863 he was appointed treasurer fmd
from that time till 1883 was clerk and treasurer of the
muncipality. He then retired from office, being 82
years of age, to enjoy a well-earned rest.

On the 16th of January, 1882, a large number of the
representative citizens gathered at Brougham in a ban-
quet tendered to this venerable servant of the township.
A purse and gold watch, with an appreciative address,
were presented to him in recognition of his long and
valued services. The chair was occupied by John Mil-
ler, Eeeve, and addresses were delivered by Col. Button,
Major Farewell, Messrs. P. E. Hoover, Levi Mackey,
William Forrester and others. Honesty and thorough-
ness were the outstanding characteristics of the life and
work of Mr. Beaton. He would not prevaricate, nor
be a party to deceit of any kind. His sense of duty was
high, and no work of his passed from his hands till it
was thoroughly and accurately done.

Mr. Beaton resided in various parts of the township.
After quitting the farm at Wliitevale he bought a cot-

220

PICKEEING PEOPLE

tage at Thompson's Corners, where he lived for several
years, and later he moved to^ Pickering Village, where
he made his home with a cousin named Donald La-
mont. His life was prolonged till 1892, when he died
at the ripe old age of ninety.

Mr. Beaton had a family of five sons, John S., now of
Oshawa; William, who died at Brandon in 1889; Don-
ald R., the well-known present clerk of the township,
upon whom in large measure has fallen his father's
mantle of thoroughness, accuracy, and general business
•efficiency; Forrest A., of Whitevale, and Hector of
Toronto.

Bell. — John Bell, a native of Dumfriesshire, Scotland
came to Canada with his wife, Margaret Miller (sister
of William Miller and aunt of John Miller, of This-
tleha'), in 1834. They settled on Lot 28, Con. 7. His
wife died in 1869 and he in 1873. Their family were
Helen (Mrs. James Whitson), Euphemia (Mrs. Eobert
Welsh), Jane (Mrs. William Welsh), Janet (Mrs. Wil-
liam Cowie), Agnes Nancy (Mrs. Frederick Green),
Elizabeth (Mrs. James Laurie), Margaret (Mrs. Alex.
Mustard), John M., George and Eobert.

John M. Bell married Jane Allison and lived on Lot
28, Con. 7. His wife died in 1870 and he in 1892. His
daughter, Mrs. Peter Stewart, with her two sons, John
and Peter, still live on the farm.

Eobert Bell lived on the 6th Concession. Of his
family one daughter, Kate, was Mrs. Tobias Michell;
another was Mrs. Frank Michell. His son, John C,
lived on the farm till a few years ago.

221

PAST YEAES IN PICKERING

Bennett. — William Bennett and Charlotte, his wife,
came from England in 1833 and settled on Lots 23 and
24, Con. 9. Their house, huilt in the fifties, of brick
was one of the finest houses in the township at the time,
and with its spacious rooms and the massive woodwork of
the interior is surpassed by few to-day. Their family
were: Betsy (Mrs. Merton), Mary (Mrs. W. C, Little,
of Barrie), Thomas, Charlotte (Mrs. Lumley, of Min-
esing), Susan (Mrs. John Bundy, of Linwood), Charles,
of Barrie. Mr. Bennett retired to a house built for
himself half a mile south of Claremont in later years.
He died in 1872.

His son, Thomas Bennett, married Barbara McLel-
land, widow of Mr. Borland. Their three sons still live
in the township. C. 0. Bennett on Lot 23, Con. 9, and
Walter and Sydney on Lots 21 and 22, Con. 6. Thomas
Bennett died in 1909 and Mrs. Bennett in 1910.

Betts. — Aaron Betts, with five sons and one daugh-
ter, came to Pickering from New York State in 1824.
His third son, Eobert Betts, settled on Lot 10, Con. 2.
The stone farm house was built in 1846. Here seven
children were born and reared. The farm is still occu-
pied by his grandson, Robert Cronk.

Bentley. — William, Nathan and James L. Bentley
were born in New York State near Syracuse. William
came to Canada in 1829 and located on the 6th Con-
cession. He opened the first store at what came to be
known as Bentley's Corners in 1835. He died in 1860.
Nathan came in 1831 and purchased the bush farm,
Lot 32, Con. 9, where he resided continuously till his

222

PICKEEING PEOPLE

death in 1874. James L. came in 1835 and lived in
Brougham till his death in 1866.

Miron Bentley was born in 1798 and came to Canada
when a young man. He married Hannah Badgerow.
Their daughter, Mrs. William Hubbard, born in 1829,
still lives in Brougham, Miron Bentley died in 1844
and his wife in 1885.

Bice. — William Bice came with his family from the
township of Darlington and settled on Lot 34, Con. 5,
about the year 1830. Their son, Lyman, married a
Miss Johnston, and lived on Lot 34, Con. 5. He died
in the year 1890, aged 84. Lyman's son, John Bice,
lived in the neighborhood till 1908, when he died at
the age of 70. Nelson, another son of William Bice,
married Eliza Lott and lived on Lot 33, Con. 6. He
died in 1899 and his wife in 1905. Nelson's son Elias
married Elizabeth Cowie and still lives on the old
homestead.

BiRRELL.— Ebenezer Birrell was born in Scotland in
1801 and came to Canada in 1834, locating on Lots 9 and
10, Con. 7, his home being known as "Maple Hall." For
many years he was one of Pickering's most prominent
citizens. He was a man of superior education and took an
interest in all the life of the community. He was
president of the Pickering Agi'icultural Society during
the years 1853 to 1859 and local superintendent of edu-
cation in the years 1856 to 1865. For a time he ap-
pears to have held the position of Lieutenant-Colonel,
commanding the 4th Battalion of Ontario Militia. Iij
later years he was for years an elder and session clerk
of the Presbyterian congregation in Claremont. Mr.

223

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

Birrell died on February 27tli, 1888, in the 88th year of
his age. The family are as follows: Jessie (Mrs. True,
deceased), John (deceased), James (Claremont), David
(on the old farm) and Christena (Mrs. Arthur John-
ston, deceased 1886).

Boone. — Ambrose Boone emigrated from Birming-
ham, England, in 1820, settling in Prince Edward
County, Upper Canada, where ten years later he mar-
ried Deborah Waring, a native of Clonmel, Ireland,
she having came out in 1816. They settled on Lots No. 12
and 13, Con. 3, at that time unbroken forest. They
were faithful members of the Friends' Meeting at
Pickering. Ambrose Boone died suddenly in 1871 while
visiting Ohio in connection with religious work. His
widow died at her home in Pickering in 1878, aged 70
years. Of their family three are still living, Edward
Boone, of Indian Head, Sask., and Anne W. and Eliza-
beth B., of Pickering.

Bov^^ES. — David Bowes lived on the farm on which the
Cedar Creek school stands. His wife died in 1873 and
he in 1889. His family were Sarah (Mrs. Stevens),
Francis (deceased 1870), George (of Blythe, Ont.),
Joseph (London), Edward (Buffalo), Sorah (Mrs. W.
Leaper, deceased).

BoYER. — Samuel and Benjamin Boyer were of Penn-
sylvania descent. Samuel settled on Lot 12, Con. 7, in
the early forties. He was famous as a woodsman and
especially as a hunter of wild bees.

His son, Abraham Boyer, was accidentally killed in
the mill on Jan. 28th, 1904. Another son, Jonas, lives
in Stouffville, and his daughter (Mrs. John Miller).

224

PICKERING PEOPLE

Benjamin Boyer, brother of Samuel, lived in Whit-
church. His son, David Boyer, with his family, settled
on Lots 13 and 14, Con. 7, about 1845. Soon after a
carding mill was built, which did good service £or many
years, being later sold to Cornelius J. Wilson.

David's son, Joseph, of Detroit, is widely known as
a successful inventor and manufacturer. Two daughters
and one son (Mrs. James Madill, Mrs. Mackay and
Mr. Ira Boyer), still live in Claremont.

Brander. — John Brander and his wife came from
Scotland and settled on the Kingston Road near Post's
tavern, where Mr. Brander worked as a blacksmith,
shoeing the horses used on the Toronto-Kingston stage.
The Branders were members of the first Presbyterian
congregation which worshipped in Leys's school. Mr.
Brander died when a comparatively young man. Of
their family two are still living.

Mrs. Brander afterward married Thomas Brand,
another of the early Scotch settlers, and lived on Lot
26, Con. 3. Mr. Brand died in 1852 and Mrs. Brand
in 1888. Two of their family are still living, William
in Toronto and Miss Margaret in Pickering.

Brodie. — Charles J. Brodie, V.S., graduated from the
Ontario Veterinary College and began practising in
Claremont in 1875. His wife is a daughter of the late
Alfred Tracy.

George M. Brodie, M. D., practised medicine in
Claremont from 1890 till 1902.

Ralph Brodie, M.D., succeeded his brother in the
practice in 1902 and is still Claremont's doctor. His wife
is a daughter of the late Daniel Forsyth,

15 225

PAST YEAES IN PICKEEING

Brown. — George Brown was born in East Lothian,
Scotland, in 1806, and came to Canada in 1831. In
1833 he married Christena Lawson and settled on Lot
38, Con. 2, Mr. Brown died in 1879 and Mrs. Brown
in 1886. Their family were Elizabeth (Mrs. Thorn,
deceased, 1907), Janet (living in Dunbarton), William
(deceased, 1869), David (died in Scotland, 1878) and
Euphemia (Mrs. Eobert Milne, Lot 30, Con. 6).

Brown. — The Browns, Nicholas, James, Joseph,
Sylvanus, Abraham, Ira and Eowland, came from the
New England States, Vermont and New York in the
opening years of the nineteenth century and settled in
the southwestern part of the township. They were
Friends (or Quakers) and united with others in form-
ing a large meeting. James Brown died in 1843. His
son, S. K. Brown, is still living in East Toronto.

BuNDY. — John Bundy came from England in 1832
with his wife and two children, a boy and a girl.
The little girl succumbed to ihe hardiships of
the voyage and was buried at sea. Mr. Bundy was a
carpenter and lived first in Toronto and afterward in
Uxbridge township. He came to Claremont about 1860.

Of his family George was a cabinet maker and under-
taker in Claremont (in the present library building) till
shortly before his death in 1903. John died some
years ago at Linwood, Ont. Samuel moved to Toronto
many years ago. (His son, Joseph Bundy, is the well-
known hardware merchant of Pickering.) Abraham
went to Parry Sound a few years ago. Joshua carried
on a tinsmithing business in Claremont for many years
and for a time in Pickering village. He still lives in
Claremont. William also resides in Claremont.

226

PICKEEING PEOPLE

Bunting. — Brereton Bunting came to Pickering
from England in 1851 and in August of that year be-
gan teaching at a salary of £50. He taught in several
places in the township and in 1857 began business as
a merchant in Pickering village, continuing for about
thirty years. He was a well-known and effective local
preacher in connection with the Methodist Church for
many years, and throughout his life was one of Picker-
ing's most highly respected citizens. In 18'63 he was
appointed justice of the peace and in that capacity
did good service to the community. His advice was
ever in the direction of the reasonable and amicable
settlement of differences. Mr. Bunting died in 1909.
Mrs. Bunting still lives with her daughters in
Pickering village. The family are as follows: Thomas
B. Bunting, B.A., barrister and solicitor (deceased,
1887) ; John W., druggist (deceased, 1895) ; Eichard
A., (merchant and postmaster, Pickering Village) ;
Mrs. (Dr.) E. M. Bateman (Toronto), Misses Bertha A.
and Ida B. (Pickering), Fred B. (Toronto), Mrs. E.
A. Douglas (Matheson, Ont.) and William H. (Pas
Mission, Sask.).

Burgess. — George Burgess married Mary Ward and
lived on Lot 13, Con. 9. Mrs. Burgess died in 1910
and Mr. Burgess in 1911. Their family were Elizabeth
(Mrs. Wm. Linton, deceased), Jane (Mrs. G. Bowes,
deceased), William, Sarah (Mrs. Coxworth), Joseph,
Margaret (Mrs. Coxworth), Matilda (Mrs. N. Tarr,
Markham), George, Eachel (Mrs. J. A. Jones, Lot 4,
Con. 7), Alice (Mrs. Frank Harris, Lot 3, Con. 2.).

227

PAST YEARS IN PICKEEING

BuRK. — William H. Burk came from Markham to
Pickering in 1859 and settled on Lots 30 and 31, Con.
7. He built a sawmill on the stream running through
the place. His family are: Ida (Mrs. Oliver H. Pugh,
living on the old farm), May (Mrs. Charles Michell,
Toronto), Ethel and Charlotte. Mr. Burk lives retired
in Markham.

BuRKHOLDER. — Ulrich Burkholder, of Pennsylvania
descent, came from Vaughan township and bought 400
acres in the 3rd Concession, cornering at Cherrywood.
His family: Ulrich, Abraham, William, Samuel,
Michael, John, Mrs. Andrew Peat, Mrs. Keeffer, and
David.

Burton. — Thomas Burton, a Yorkshireman, came
to Markham about 1830. He died in Whitevale about
1868, and his wife, Isabella Wilson, in 1875. His three
sons, Thomas, Israel and Richard, settled in Pickering.

Thomas Burton married Susan Milligan, daughter
of Major Benj. Milligan, of Markham, and settled on
the farm. Later he was Whitevale's first postmaster,
and also conducted hotel for some years. He died in
19i00, aged 85 years. His family are: George, of To-
ronto; William P., of Whitevale; Thomas, of Portage
la Prairie; Nancy (Mrs. John R. Hoover, of Toronto) ;
Adelia (Mrs. C. Forster, of Green River) ; Fanny (Mrs.
Thomas Pringle, of Bowmanville) , and Mary (Mrs. H.
Windsor, deceased).

Israel Burton married Caroline Sleigh, daughter of
William Sleigh. Mr. Burton was a farmer, but ran a
butcher business for some time and also at an early
period (about 1855) conducted a store at Belford. Mrs.

^28

PICKERING PEOPLE

Burton died in 1909, aged 82, and Mr. Burton, having
gone to Chicago to be with his children, died there in
1910 at the age of 88. His family are Truman, of Ala-
bama; Frank S., Isabella (Mrs. J. Patton) and Maria
(Mrs. W. G. Wilkinson), all three living in Chicago.

Richard Burton married Sarah Palmer and farmed
Lot 27, Con. 9, moving in 1850 to Lot 16, Con. 6, where
he spent the rest of his life. He died in 1856, and his
wife in 1880. Their family were Mary (Mrs. W. Wil-
son, of Brougham), Thomas (deceased), John (Lot 16,
Con. 6), Lydia (Mrs. Russell, Dakota), Nicholas (who
spent eleven years as a harness maker in Columbus
and has been for thirty years in Claremont in the same
line), Sarah (Mrs. John Linton, Toronto), and Richard
(deceased).

Chapman. — Joseph Chapman and his wife Sarah
Siddons came to Pickering from Pennsylvania about the
year 1810. Their sons Eliud and Nelson remained in
the township. Eliud purchased Lot 9, Con 3, from
the James Brown estate in the forties. He married
Catherine Carpenter and had five children, three of
whom survive — Nelson living on the home farm and Ida
and Cornelia in Vancouver. Eliud Chapman died 1876:
Nelson the elder in 1872 married Eliza Jane Hall of
Darlington, from which union there were four children,
Frank M. (now editor of The Farmer's Magazine, To-
ronto), Ernest L. (in business in Toronto), Miles S.
(hardware merchant of Pickering Village), and Winni-
fred (engaged as a teacher in Toronto).

Chester, — Thomas Chester came from England in
the forties and settled on Lot 32, E. F. He married
Jane Cowan.

229

PAST YEAES IN PICKERING

Cochrane. — William Cochrane, a native of Dervock,
near Ballymena, in Ireland, came to Canada in 1845.
The year following his father and mother, John and
Mary Cochrane, came out with the rest of their family —
John, Eliza (afterwards Mrs. Cassie of TJxbridge),
James and Catherine. After a brief residence in Pick-
ering, during which their daughter Catherine died, the
family moved to Burford Township, William also
spending several years in that locality, part of which
were employed in lielpicg to lay the railway between
Paris and Woodstock. Returning to Pickering, he
worked for seven years for the Miller family of Atha.
On December 30th, 1854, he married Elizabeth T)evitt,
who was born at Tullylagher, Co. Donegal, Ireland,
and came to Canada with her parents in 1827. After
four years at Atha they moved to Lot 11, Con. 8, where
the rest of their lives was spent. Mr, Cochrane died in
1903, aged 30, and Mrs. Cochrane in 1905 also at the
age of 80. They had a family of five sons and five
daughters, five of whom are still living, namely Mary
Jane (Mrs. David Pilkey of Balsam), Elizabeth (Mrs.
W. H. Coates of Claremont), and Josephine, Agnes and
James, who live on the old homestead.

CooPEE. — ^William Cooper, from the south of Eng-
land, came to Canada with his wife and family about
1830 and settled near Whitevale, but later moved to Lot
25, Con. 9. He died in 1864, aged 78, and his wife
in 1884, aged 99.

Their sons Charles and Richard went on to Lot 22,
Con. 9, Richard died in 1863 at the age of 44.

Charles married Isabella O'Brien in 1843, the cere-

230

PICKEEIKG PEOPLE

mony being performed by Elder George Barclay. Charles
died in 1859 and his wife in 1899. Their family were
as follows: Jane (Mrs. Watson, whose husband was a
tailor in Claremont for many years, and who now lives
in Stratford), George, (who married Catherine J.
Michell and worked the home farm till 1908, when he
removed to Claremont), Hugh (married Ann Eichard-
son, now lives in Buffalo), William (of Toronto), Olive
(Mrs. John Palmer, deceased), Mary (Mrs. William
Milne, deceased) and Charles (who married Sarah
McDonald and now lives in Eichmond Hill).

The family of George Cooper are as follows : Isabella
(Mrs. A. Eawson), Mary E. (Mrs. John TJnderhill),
Frank (who married Mary Ward and lives on Lot 25,
Con. 9), Lilian (Mrs. G. M. Forsyth, K Claremont),
Bertha (Mrs. Walter Ward, Balsam), Herbert (married
Cora Evans and lives on the home farm), and Miss
Blanche, of Claremont.

Cornell. — Gervas Cornell, a native of New York
State, came to Canada about the year 1820, and began to
clear a farm in Whitby Township which had been pur-
chased earlier by his father. After three years the farm
was sold and he returned home, but not being suited
with life there came again to Canada, and after another
stay of some years in Whitby Township came to Pick-
ering about the year 1836, taking up Lot 9, Con. 2.
Here he lived till 1868, when he retired to Pickering
Village. His family of five are all residents of the
township.

CouRTiCE. — Thomas and Mary Courtice, natives of
Devonshire, came to Canada in or about the year 1831,

231

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

settling in Darlington, A few years later Mrs. Cour-
tice died, leaving two small children. Subsequently
Mr. Courtice married Mary Annis and in 1841 moved to
the B. F. of Pickering, Lot 27, half a mile west of
Dunbarton, He was a member of the Bible Christian
Church and filled the office of class leader and local
preacher very acceptably from early manhood till the
close of his life. He died in 1860 and his wife in 1899.
Of their family four are still living — John L. (Clin-
ton), Mrs. C. Bailey (Orillia), Andrew J. (Holmes-
ville) and Mrs. W. R. Miller of Toronto.

Cowan. — William Cowan came to Canada with his
father in the year 1832, being then about five years old.
Coming up the St. Lawrence, the boat on which they
travelled, drawn by oxen on the bank, took fire and they
lost much of their baggage. Finding their destination
Lot 32 B.F., just west of the mouth of the Rouge,
it was necessary to provide shelter by placing a ridge-
pole across between two trees and leaning evergreen
boughs at an angle against it on both sides so as to
leave a triangular space beneath into which they crept.
Soon a space was cleared, a log house erected and they
began to widen the opening in the forest and in pioneer
fashion to cultivate the soil. In 1850 Mr. Cowan mar-
ried Mary Ann Walker, whose parents lived at the
Rouge. He was an elder in Melville Church, Scarboro,
and Superintendent of the Sunday School for many
years. He died in 1897, In his seventy-first year, and
Mrs. Cowan in 1907 in her eighty-first year. Their
family were Jean (Mrs. W. McKetterick, deceased),
Henry (deceased), William (of Rosebank), Robert

233

PICKEEING PEOPLE

(in Toronto), Mary Ann (Mrs. Robert Purdie, de-
ceased), Ellen (Mrs. John Heron, Scarboro), Margaret
B. (Mrs. Alex Neilson), James and John.

Dale. — Richard Dale married Jane Valentine, by
whom he had the following family: Hannah (Mrs.
Edmond Wright), Valentine, Chrjgtopher, Mary, Wil-
liam J., Sarah A., and Richard. His son William J.
Dale lived for a time on the farm on the 3rd Con.
(Lot 15). He died in 1900. His wife and one daughter
have resided since in Pickering Village, but recently
moved to Hartney, Man., where a son, Edward, and
two daughters, Mary and Ethel (Mrs. H. Dunning),
live.

Davidson. — James Ironsides Davidson came from
Monquitter Parish, Aberdeenshire, in 1842. He settled
on the rear of Con. 8, on which there were then about
five acres clear. His family were : John, who married
Miss Burns of Whitby and lives near Ashburn ; Andrew,
who went to Monticello, Iowa; James I., who married
Miss Nichol and lives on the old homestead; Mary
(Mrs. William Miller), and George, of Carman, Man.

Davidson. — Alexander Davidson and his wife, Mary
Procter, came from Aberdeenshire in 1846, and settled at
Cherrywood. Their family were: William, who married
Agnes Milroy and taught school for some years in the
township ; George, who after living about ten years near
Cherrywood went about 1867 to Osprey; James, who
married Ellen Mair and lived near Cherrywood, (where
his son, George Davidson still lives) ; Julian, who

233

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

learned blacksmithing at Dunbarton and afterwards
worked at Pickering and later at Brougham, and Mary
(Mrs. James Duncan).

Devitt. — Matthew Devitt and his wife, Jane Strong,
came from Enniskillen, Ireland, about 1837, living for
a few years near the Bay of Quinte and afterwards pur-
chasing Lot 15, Con. 6, from the Crown. The farm is
still in the family, bieing owned by his grandson.
Matthew Devitt died in 1850 and his wife in 1864. The
following are the names of their family of eight :
George, of Dakota, died 1894; Susan (Mrs. Allbright),
died 1897; Wright, of Oartwright Township, died
1870; Mary (Mrs. Wm. Gibson), died 1873; John
(father of W. J. Devitt, Lot 15, Con. 6, and of Robert
Devitt, Lot 14, Con. 5) ; Jane (Mrs. Alex. Browne),
died 1893; Elizabeth (Mrs. William Cochrane), died
1905.

Dickie. — In 1843, William Dickie, with his wife,
Isabella Gibson, and their daughter Annie, sailed from
Aberdeen on the vessel Rose of Aberdeen on her maiden
voyage and in six weeks landed at Halifax, from which
they journeyed on to Toronto. Thence they travelled
through the forest to Alexander Mackey's, north of Kin-
sale, Mrs. Mackey being Mrs. Dickie's sister. After
various changes they rented the McGillivray farm east
of Audley. Their family are as follows: Annie (Mrs.
Thomas Marquis), Isabella (Mrs. James Rogers), Jean
(Mrs. Enos Remmer), Mary (Mrs. Henry Savage),
William (with the Kemp Mfg. Co.), John (merchant,
Pickering) .

234

PICKEEING PEOPLE

Dixon. — Mr. and Mrs. Dixon married and came to
Pickering in 1849, settling on Lot 31, Con. 2. Mr.
Dixon died March, 1895, and Mrs. Dixon October, 1902.
Of their family eight are still living, namely: Mrs.
Stockdale, in western Canada; Mrs. Anderson, in To-
ronto; Mrs. Sinclair, of Toronto; Mrs. "William Lotton,
on Lot 33, Con. 1; Mrs. David Mainland, of Stouff-
ville; William, on the old homestead; Tena, in Ham-
ilton, and Mary, at Cherrywood.

DuNBAK. — William Dunbar was born in Laurence-
kirk, Scotland, in 1786, and came to Canada in 1831,
settling on Lot 25, Con. 1, the following year. He was
the pioneer of the Scotch settlement in that part of the
township, being followed within a few years by the
Annans, Gilchrists, ©rowns, Lawsons, Wfilkies, and
other families. Mr. Dunbar took a practical interest in
everything concerning the welfare of the community,
and was a leading member and elder of the Presby-
terian church from its first organization. He died in
1869. His family, all born in Scotland, were as fol-
lows: James (b. 1809, d. at Montreal, 1866); Janet
(1811-1816); Eobert (b. 1813, d. at Buffalo, 1890);
William (b. 1815, d. at Dunbarton, 1901); John (b.
1818, d. at Toronto, 1890) ; Alex (b. 1820, d. in Mis-
souri, 1877) ; David (b. 1822, d. at Dunbarton, 1832) ;
Elizabeth (Mrs. Campbell, b. 1824, d. at Toronto,
1899).

William Dunbar (son of the pioneer William), spent
his life in Dunbarton as a blacksmith. With his father
and some others from the neighborhood he was appre-
hended at the time of the rebellion and marched to

235

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

Toronto, where they were kept for a time under guard.
His family are William (well-known as a successful
business man in Pickering Village for many years, and
now resident in Dunbarton), and Minnie (Mrs. Dr. J.
R. Dales of Dunbarton).

Duncan. — James Duncan and his wife Mary David-
son came from Aberdeenshire in 1856 with their six
children and located at Cherrywood, where Mr. Duncan
worked as a shoemaker. Mrs. Duncan died in 1869
and Mr. Duncan in 1877. The oldest and the youngest
of their children still live in the township, namely, Mrs.
Forgie, sr., of Claremont, and George Duncan, of Lot
25, Con. 6.

Dunn. — Thomas Dunn, with his wife, both natives
of Edinburgh, came to Canada in the year 1855 and
settled in Claremont, where he has lived since. He was
appointed Deputy Returning Officer in 1870 and was
Township Auditor for about thirty years, commencing
with 1874.

DuNLOP. — Alexander Dunlop came from County
Down in Ireland and settled on Lot 10, Con. 4, in 1821.
Some time afterward his father and mother crossed the
Atlantic, but his mother died at Prescott by the way.
In 1833 he married Sophia Moon. Their family were:
Hamilton, born 1834, died at Greenwood, 1910; James,
who went to the States; Sophia (Mrs. Bray of Clare-
mont) ; Alexander, and John (deceased) ; Annie (Mrs.
McKittrick) ; Sarah (Mrs. Elliott) ; Elizabeth (Mrs.
Guernsey), and Margaret (Mrs. Murphy).

Hamilton Dunlop, a brother of Alexander, worked

236

PICKEEING PEOPLE

for some time as a blacksmith on the fourth Concession,
but afterwards went to London, Ont.

Edwards. — John Edwards and his wife Jane Best
came to Canada from Cornwall in 1846. Settling first in
Markham, they came to Pickering in 1860 (Lot 2,
Con. 4). Their family were: William, who married
Jane Pugh (family, Sarah, Judson and Mabel) ; John,
who married Margaret Madill, and lives on Lot 2, Con.
4., with their family of four; and Mary Jane (Mrs.
Edward E. Pugh). Their daughter, Elizabeth, is Mrs.
Wideman of Markham and their son Levi lives on Lot
10, Con. 9.

Edwards. — William Edwards was born in Cornwall
in 1832 and came to Canada in his youth. He was
employed at the opening of the harbor in the years
1843-5. In early life he spent some time as a sailor
on Lake Ontario and on one occasion was shipwrecked
off Toronto Island and barely escaped with his life. He
spent the greater part of his life at his trade as a car-
penter in the southern part of the township. He died
October 1st, 1910.

Evans. — James Evans and his wife Sarah Pugh came
to Canada in 1842 and settled on Lot 9, Con. 9. Their
family were : William (married Melissa Morgan) ;
James (married Eachel Morgan, lives on Con. 5, Ux-
bridge) ; Elizabeth (Mrs. E. Ward) ; John (deceased) ;
Thomas (deceased) ; Josi.ah (married Alice Seebeck
and lives on Lot 16, Con. 9) ; Sarah (Mrs. D. Morgan,
Uxbridge townline) ; Eliza Jane (deceased) ; Edwin
Walter (of Whitby).

237

PAST YEARS IN PICKEEING

Fereier. — William Ferrier was born in Markham in
1810 and came to Pickering, Lot 35, Con. 5, in 1838,
where he resided till his death in 1890. His wife, Cyn-
thia Ferrier, died in 1875. Their family were: Cyn-
thia (deceased 1842) ; Silas B. (deceased 1867) ; John
W. (deceased 1874) ; Harvey W. (deceased 1895) ;
Amos B. (deceased 1904) ; 0. P. Ferrier, and Mrs. J.
J. Bell (both in Green River), and Dr. D. W. Ferrier,
of Toronto. The farm is still in the family, being
occupied by George W. Ferrier, grandson of William
Ferrier.

Dr. D. W. Ferrier, born 1833, after certification by
the faculty of Victoria College, began to practice in
Brougham in 1862. He obtained the degree of M.D.
from Victoria in 1867. He was commissioned associate
coroner for Ontario County in 1879. From 1882 to
1892 he practised in Claremont, since which date he has
resided and practised in Toronto.

FoRGiE. — John Forgie came to Canada from Lang-
side, Aberdeenshire, in 1852. He worked for the Heron
family at Ashburn for some time, and in 1860 married
Barbara Duncan and settled near Cherrywood. After
five years they moved to N ^-2 Lot 19, Con. 9. In
1897 they retired to Claremont, where Mr. Forgie died
in 1904, and where Mrs. Forgie still lives. Their family
are as follows: John, who married Alice Neal, and
now lives in Mount Forest; Mary (Mrs. Hargrave of
Markham) ; James, who married Isabella Milne and
lived at Sunnidale, deceased 1897; Isabella (Mrs.
Thomas Neal) ; Jean (Hinton, West Virginia) ; John
(Lot 19, Con. 9, Assessor 1911) ; Annie, and Agnes E.

238

WILLIAM DUNBAR

PICKERING PEOPLE

Forrester. — Rev. William Forrester, a native of
Fifeshire, came to Pickering about 1856, settling on
B.F. Lot 21, where the most of his life was spent. He
was first Deputy Reeve for several years and hence a
member of the County Council. He was an active
worker and minister of the Church of the Disciples,
and a man of genuine worth, always highly respected
in the community. He retired in later years to Tor-
onto^ where he died January, 1911, in his 83rd year.

Forsyth. — Daniel Forsyth was born in Uxbridge and
in 1864 married a daughter of John and Mrs. Barry,
since which time they have lived in the neighborhood
of Claremont. For a number of years he operated the
mill south of the village. In 1901 they moved to the
residence at North Claremont, where Mrs. Forsyth and
her mother, Mrs. Barry, still live. Here Mr. Forsyth
died in December, 1910. Their family are: John, who
died in 1906; Mary E. (Mrs. Dr. R. Brodie of Clare-
mont) ; George Malcolm, and Robert Ewen of North
Claremont, and Mildred, at the old home.

Gauslin. — George Gauslin, a 'Yorkshireman, and
his wife Jane Gaudby lived on Lot 13, Con. 8, Their
family were: Joseph (deceased), Elizabeth, Richard
(Elmvale), Thomas (Lot 14, Con. 7), Susan (Tor-
onto), Hannah (Mrs. Uriah Jones, Altona), Eliza (de-
ceased), Amelia (Mrs. John Gibson), John (Lot 13,
Con. 8), Mary (Mrs. Thomas Lee). Mr. Gauslin died
in 1887 af the age of 88. Mrs. Gauslin died in 1889.

Gee. — William Gee came from Scarboro Township
in 1848 and settled on Lot 6, Con. 5, where he spent the
rest of his life. Mrs. Gee died in 1881 and Mr. Gee in
1884. 339

PAST YEARS IN PICKEEING

Gerow. — The Gerow family are of French descent.
John Gerow had four sons, all of whom were engaged
in woodwork of some kind. Daniel erected the store in
Claremont, now occupied by W. M. Palmer, and later
went to the States. John was in early life a carpenter
and later became proprietor of the hotel in Brougham,
where he still lives. Walter went to the States. George
was well-known for years as a pump-maker in Clare-
mont and later Avent to Port Perry, of which place
he is now reeve. His son, John Gerow, still carries on
the pump-making business with much success.

Gibbons. — Thomas Gibbons came to Canada from
Wiltshire, England, in 1856, and about two years later
located in Claremont. He married Elizabeth Savage,
who had come some years earlier from Bedfordshire.
For the last twenty-six years Mr. Gibbons has had a
flour and feed business, and in later years a grocery as
well, in Claremont. Their family are: William and
George (in Toronto) ; Jessie (Mrs. Adam Spears) ;
Mary Helen (Mrs. William Walford) ; Nettie (Mrs.
E. Worthy) ; Charles (in Toronto) ; and Eva (Mrs. S,
Stevenson).

Gibson", — In 1837 William Gibson with his wife,
Sarah Yeoman, and two sons — Yeoman, aged nine years,
and Judson, aged five — came from Yorkshire to Can-
ada. They contracted small-pox on the vessel, but re-
covered and made their way to Toronto, where they
remained about a year, Mr. Gibson engaging in the
butchering business. On April 30th, 1838, he bought
the farm of 75 acres, being parts of Lots 7 and 8, Con.
6, from Mr. James Munger. Another son and daughter

340

PICKERING PEOPLE

were born to them on the farm, the former of whom
died in infancy, and the latter was afterwards Mrs. B.
Weatherill. In 1847, Mr. Gibson died suddenly from
apoplexy. His widow survived him forty years. His
eldest son. Yeoman, married Miss Belinda Hyfield and
spent his life in Whitby. Judson married Miss Carrie
E. Graham and lived on the farm till his death in 1910.
The farm is still occupied by his son. Two daughters,
Lena and Gertie, are now respectively Mrs. F. M.
Chapman of Toronto and Mrs. F. W. Disney of Oshawa.

Gilchrist. — David Gilchrist was born in Largo, Fife-
shire, in 1806. He was employed during the earlier
years of his manhood as a baker in his native village.
With his wife, Mary Skinner, and their first child they
came to Canada, an eight weeks' voyage, in. 1832, set-
tling on Lot 27, Con. 2. He was an active member of
the Presbyterian congregation worshipping in the school
on the Second Concession, (afterwards Erskine Church),
and served the municipality as assessor for many years.
His family were: Isabella (Mrs. Lawson, of Cherry-
wood, died 1911) ; George (died in Toronto, 1910) ;
William (still living at Cherry wood) ; David, Robert
and Alexander (all deceased some years since) ; Chris-
tena (Mrs. Mills, of Toronto) ; James (in Western
Canada), and Mary (Mrs. John Somerville, Cherry-
wood). Mr. Gilchrist died in 1880 and Mrs. Gilchrist
in 1882.

Gordon'. — John Gordon of Frazerburg, Scotland,

came to Perry's Corners (Whitby), Canada West, in

1848 after a six weeks' voyage. Half undecided about

remaining in the country, he came eventually to Duf-

16 241

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

fin's Creek, where he began the business of barrel-
making. He later purchased a lot on Church Street,
where he built a residence and shop, conducting busi-
ness till his death in 1894.

Of his family two daughters, Mrs. Armstrong and
Mrs. Hartrick and two sons, John (well-known for
many years in the township as an apple-buyer and ship-
per) and Stephen, are deceased. One daughter, Mrs.
Flett, resides in Kingston, and two sons live in Pick-
ering— William D., engaged in the lumber business, and
Robert, a builder and contractor.

GoRMLEY. — John Gormley, a native of County Mona-
ghan, Ireland, came to Canada about the year 1824,
and worked for some time on the Welland Canal and
later in Toronto and Caledon. With his brothers James
and Joseph he took up before 1833 Lot 17, south of the
first Concession to the lake, James taking the north-
east corner, John the northwest and Joseph the south-
west, the southeast being sold to Mr. Balmer, son-in-
law of their sister Mrs. Smith. Thomas, a fourth
brother, was killed at the Battle of Waterloo.

John Gormley's only son, Thomas, came to Canada
in 1844. His family are: Mary Jane (Mrs. Arthur
Gormley), and Margaret, John, Thomas and Samuel,
who live in Pickering Village.

Joseph Gormley came out about 1826. His family
are: Joseph (at Dunbarton), James (Lot 16, B.F. 3rd
Range), Mary (Mrs. S. Carleton), Arthur and Richard
(on the old homestead), and John (of Pickering).

Mrs. Smith above mentioned was grandmother to
Mrs. B. Bunting of Pickering Village.

242

PICKERING PEOPLE

GosTiCK. — Thomas Gostick, sr., was born in 1789
and died in 1859. Mrs. Gostick was born in 1796 and
died in 1884. Their sons were Thomas and John, the
former of whom was born in 1820 and died in 1894,
and the latter born 1836 and died 1907. Two sons of
Thomas Gostick still live in the township, Thomas
Calvert (Lot 24, Con. 7), and Frederick (Lot 24, Con.

GouRLiE. — William Gourlie, a native of Berwick-
shire, came to Scarboro in 1832, and afterwards settled
on Lot 24 (rear) Con. 2. He died in 1875 and his
wife in 1882. His family were: Jane (Mrs. Alexander
Dunbar) ; Ann (Mrs. Mcintosh) ; Jessie (Mrs. William
Young) ; Robert, still living on Con. 4, Uxbridge ;
James, and George, who occupied the old homestead till
his death in 1895.

Graham. — Richard Graham, a native of Cumberland,
England, came to Canada about the year 1842. In
1870 he took up Lot 23, Con. 9. He married Miss
Armstrong, of Markham. Their family are: Robert (of
Graliam and Renfrew, Bedford Park) ; David (Lot 26,
Con. 7) ; George (Montana) ; William and Thomas
(Graham Bros., Claremont) ; Elizabeth (Mrs. John
Manning, Montana), and Miss Margaret. Mr. Graham
died in 1881. His wife still lives with her two sons
and daughter on the farm.

Green. — Frederick Green was the son of Samuel
Green, of March in the Isle of Ely in the County of
Cambridge, Farmer, and by him was apprenticed on the
20th day of July, 1826, to Sheriff Blades of Boston

243

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

in the County of Lincoln for three years to learn his
"art" of miller and baker. Coming to Canada in the
early forties, he lived for a time in Markham, In 1843
he settled in Norwood on the 6th Concession of Pick-
ering, afterward named in his honor, Greenwood. Here
he spent the rest of his life. He had much to do with
developing the early prosperity of the village, being
engaged in various lines of business, distilling, milling
and storekeeping. He was for many years a justice of
the peace and took considerable interest in the general
life of the community. His wife was Agnes Bell, and
their family: Samuel J. Green; Mary A. (Mrs. Meen) ;
Frederick (of Indiana) ; Margaret (Mrs. Lawton of
Kinsale) ; Susan (Mrs. Mackey of Toronto), and
Charles R. (deceased).

It is related that on one occasion Squire Green and
E. Birrell, J.P., were trying a big burly fellow who
was a noted bully, and who had knocked a young farmer
senseless who had proved himself the best Jumper at the
fall fair. Mike R was abusive and insolent, threat-
ening to choke the constable and to clean out the court.
Mr. Birrell mentioned the power of a magistrate to call
for assistance or even to summon the pos^e comitatus.
"With a curse for the posse comitatus. Squire Green
said, "I can lick the scoundrel in two minutes myself,"
and adjourned the court. He suited the action to the
word, for when, a few minutes afterward, the court was
re-opened, the bully held a handkerchief to his face,
where a black eye and a bloody nose testified to the
prowess of the squire, and the court was permitted to
proceed with its business without further interruption.

244

PICKERING PEOPLE

Gregg. — Hugh Gregg with his wife and family came
from County Antrim, Ireland, to Canada in 1834.
Sailing from Belfast, a thirteen weeks' voyage brought
them to quarantine below Montreal. Here the pas-
sengers were required to go ashore by a little boat for
medical inspection. Returning, as Mr. Gregg was
handing his little eight-year-old son, Hugh, (now of
Claremont), up the side of the vessel the boat was forced
out, and while strong hands above lifted the boy his
father slipped and fell into the river, and escaped
drowning only after having gone down for the second
time. Coming to Upper Canada, they spent three years
near Thornhill, where Mrs. Gregg's brother, William
Cox, lived. This brother is reported to have done good
service for the Government in the rebellion three years
later in cornering and securing a number of "rebels"
in the house of a Mr. Duncan near German Mills. In
this year the Greggs moved to Pickering, first living
on Lot 28, Con. 8. Shortly after they moved to Lot
25, Con. 8, purchasing the north part from Edward
Burton and the south from William Palmer. Mr.
Gregg lived only about two years after coming to Pick-
ering, but Mrs. Gregg survived till December 27th,
1873. Their family were Elizabeth (Mrs. James
Hood), Eobert, James, John, Ellen (Mrs. William
Ward), Joseph (see note below), Mary Jane (Mrs.
Paul), Nancy (Mrs. Jack), David and Hugh (see note
below) .

Joseph Gregg, born in Knockcloughrin, Ireland, in
1819, came to Canada as a young man. He settled on
Lot 26, Con. 8, and married Mary Ann Canning of
Markham. Of their family of two sons and seven

245

PAST YEARS IN PICKEEING

daughters, the following still survive: Hugh (Lot 26,
Con. 8), William John (N. Claremont), Mrs. David
Morgan, Mrs. Robert Richardson, Mrs. Andrew Story,
Mrs. Arthur Luke and Miss Ruth Gregg. His wife died
in 1891, after which he lived in North Claremont. He
died in May, 1910.

Hugh Gregg continued to work the home farm. In
1873 he married Noble Lindsay of Uxbridge Township.
In later years they have resided in Claremont. Their
family are: Thomas (Claremont) ; David (Lot 25, Con.
8); Jennie (Claremont) and Maggie (Toronto). Mr.
Gregg in his eighty-sixth year is still alert of mind and
active. He recalls being engaged a year after the family
came to Pickering in picking apples for Elder Wixon
and hearing that the Wixons had been settled for forty
years before that time. Mr. Gregg in early days used
to split rails at three York shillings a hundred and the
figure for clearing land ran from $12 to $14 per
acre.

Greig. — Robert Greig, an Aberdeenshire blacksmith,
came to Canada with his wife and family and settled
near Brougham. Their family are as follows: James,
who married Elizabeth Bowes; Mary Ann (Mrs. Henry
Pilkey), Lena (Mrs. Allbright), Robert, John, William,
Isabella (Mrs. Charles Topping), and Elsie (Mrs. Philip
Forsyth). Mr. Greig died about twenty years ago.
Mrs. Greig still lives near Brougham.

Hagerman. — William Hagerman settled on Lot 34,
Con. 5, about the year 1837. The farm is still occupied
by his son, Theophilus Hagerman.

246

pickerinct people

Haight. — John Haight was one of the Friends'
settlement which came to Pickering in the opening years
of the century. He came from Vernon and married
Mary Rogers. His daughter, Phoebe Haight, was Mrs.
Wm. Hartrick. His son, John Haight, was well known
as a magistrate in the township for many years. A
grandson, H. A. Haight, still lives at Pickering. A
granddaughter, Mrs. Joseph Doyle, died at her home.
Lot 13, Con. 3, in 1910. Mrs. Doyle's daughter, Mrs.
Bedson, still lives on the farm.

Hamilton. — ^Four sons of John Hamilton of Duns,
Berwickshire, Scotland, came to Canada. The first to
come was William Hamilton, who after a brief stay
at New York opened a store at York Mills and later
moved to Uxbridge. Two sons are still living — Alex-
ander, of Beaverton, and George, of Uxbridge. William
Hamilton, the present postmaster of Uxbridge, is a
grandson. In the early thirties William was followed
by John and Alexander who came together, and some
years later the fourth brother, Robert, came. He had
been a lawyer, but in Canada followed the profession of
a teacher, residing in various parts of Ontario till his
death in the early eighties.

Alexander Hamilton spent some time in Woodbridge
and later was in business in Toronto. From 1856 till
1861 he conducted a general store in Claremont, its
location being about where the blacksmith shop now
stands east of the hotel. Mr. Hamilton then moved to
Albion and later to Wroxeter, where he continued to
reside till his death in 1889.

John Hamilton lived for some years in the neighbor-

247

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

hood of Weston. While there he married Mary Mc-
Glashan, daughter of Andrew McGlashan of York Mills.
Later they moved to Pickering, renting a farm for
several years in the southern part of the township, and
purchasing about 1840 the north half of Lots 19 and
20, Con. 9, the northeast angle of which "corners" into
the village of Claremont. Here he lived till his death
in 1887, in his 99th year. His family were: Alison,
Helen (deceased 1911), John (deceased 1889), Janet,
[Jessie] (deceased 1905), Margaret and Andrew.

Harbeon. — George Harbron came from Stockton-on-
Tees to York in 1833 with his wife and family. Several
of his grandsons live on the Sixth Concession.

Hartrick. — William Hartrick was born in the
County of Wexford, Ireland, in 1804. He came with
his parents to Pickering at the age of twelve. In 1822
he married Phoebe Haight, who was born in Pickering
in 1810. Mr. Hartrick became owner of considerable
land in the immediate vicinity of Pickering Village.
He was a magistrate for about thirty years. The old
Hartrick homestead was built in 1843 and still is in
good repair. He died in 1874 and his wife in 1882.
One son and two daughters still survive, viz., William
Hartrick and Mrs. John. Gordon, of Pickering, and
Mrs. Isaac Linton, of St. George, Ont.

Hastings. — Nathaniel Hastings was born in York
(Toronto) of U. E. L. parentage, his father being
owner of considerable land in the vicinity of what is now
Leslieville. A lot of forty acres having been trans-
ferred to Nathaniel, he exchanged it for a yoke of oxen,
a wagon and some implements, and with his young

248

PICKERING PEOPLE

wife came to Pickering about the year 1828, settling on
Lot 24, Con. 5, where he lived till his death in 1870
in his 66th year. He used to relate that when a boy
he had his father's team at a blacksmith shop in York
and that some military men came along and impressed
them into the Government service for conveying men
and supplies between York and Kingston.

His son John Hastings now lives on Lot 20, Con. 5,
while the old homestead is occupied by his grandson,
George Hastings.

Henderson. — Thomas Henderson was born in Nova
Scotia in 1834 and came to "Canada West" as a young
man. In 1843-5 he was employed at the opening of
the harbor. He married Miss Edwards in 1860 and
has spent the most of his life in the south of the
township, working at his trade as a carpenter. He
resides in Dunbarton.

Holmes. — The family of Jonathan Holmes, late of
Dunbarton, are as follows: Cuthbert W. (Lot 30,
B.F.) ; Janie (Mrs. Peter Annan, Lot 28, B. F.) ;
Thomas G. and Jonathan J. (both of Toronto) ; Mar-
garet A. (Mrs. McFadden), and William Arthur (of
Sault Ste. Marie). Mrs. Jonathan Holmes still lives
with her daughter, Mrs. Annan.

Hoover. — ^Daniel Hoover was born in Pennsylvania
in 1808, the son of Ludwig Hoover, who with his family
came to Markham a few years later. Daniel Hoover
married Frances Reesor and settled on Lot 30, Con. 3,
in 1832 and lived there till his death in 1881. He had
a family of seven sons and three daughters.

249

PAST YEARS m PICKERING

Peter R. Hoover, son of Daniel Hoover, was born in
1837. In 1862 he married Sarah ISTighswander,
daughter of Samuel ISTighswander of Altona. After
farming for a time he entered into partnership with
David Reesor in the cheese factory business. They
operated two factories, one at Stouffville and the other
at Whitevale. In 1871 Mr. Hoover entered the milling
business, first at Dixon's Hill, Markham Township, then
at Clark's Hollow, and in 1871 he bought the Green
River Mills and removed to that place, where he spent
the rest of his life. In 1875 Mr. Hoover was elected
councillor, was deputy reeve for six years and reeve in
1883. He was a good business man and prominent in
all movements for the good of the community. He died
in 1901 at the age of 64. He was survived by three
sons and one daughter — Alpheus, who is president of
the Markham and Pickering Telephone Company; Wil-
liam, who conducts the milling business at Green River ;
Frederick, who is Industrial Agent of the Southern
Pacific Railway of California, and Libbie (Mrs. A. B.
Collins of Toronto).

Hoover. — Samuel Hoover of Markham purchased
Lot 34, Con. 8, on Oct. 13th, 1843. It was then known
as Mercer's Swamp, having been granted in 1806 to
Andrew Mercer on his fulfilment of the settlement
duties. In 1847 Samuel Hoover's eldest son, Abraham
G., with his wife, Maria Burkholder, took possession,
a house having been built and about ten acres cleared
prior to that time. In 1870 his wife died, and in 1872
he married Susannah Burkholder. He became the
owner of about 400 acres of land, including Lot 34,

250

PICKEEING PEOPLE

Con. 8, and parts of Lots 35, Con. 7, 31, Con. 7, and
30, Con. 7. He was a faithful member of the Mennonite
church, always in his place. He died in 1888, leaving a
family of four sons and one daughter. Mrs. Hoover
still lives at the old home.

His eldest son, Samuel B., married Elizabeth Kester
and farmed Lots 30-31, Con. 7, from 1880 till about
ten years ago, when he retired to Stouffville. The second
son, Noah, married Jane Smith of King Township, and
lives on east half Lot 35, Con. 7. Jacob B. married
Susannah Nighswander and occupies west half Lot 34,
Con. 8. Elias B., the youngest son, married Eachel Lott
and lives on east half Lot 34, Con. 8. He has been for
three past years a member of the township council and
is a member of the Centennial council this year, 1911.

Hopkins. — Henry Hopkins, V.S., was born in 1835
at Tochdrum Farm, Stirlingshire, and came to Canada
about 1862. He lived four years on the townline, after
which he bought "Silver Maple" near Green Eiver,
which was his home for forty-two years. In 1864 he
married Maria Ann Madill, who died in 1878, leaving
seven children. In 1883 he married Nancy Ann Eaw-
throp, to whom were born four children. Dr. Hopkins
was a faithful worker in the Green Eiver Baptist church,
being clerk, deacon and treasurer for about thirty-five
years, and for a number of years superintendent of the
Sunday school. He was a man of progressive mind
and ever ready to consider new ideas and discoveries.
A man of strong convictions and steadfast character, he
was held in universal esteem. He died after a very brief
illness in November, 1909.

251

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

HowiTT. — James Howitt, a linen weaver from Aber-
deenshire, came with his wife and family of two to
Canada in 1847. In Toronto he met Jordan Post of
Pickering and engaged to work with him and went out
with him at once to his place at the foot of the Brock
Road. The Post mill was then doing a large business
and Mr. Howitt worked there for four years, after which
he moved to Uxbridge, where he lived till about 1875.
Then he located in Brougham. Both in Uxbridge and
Brougham he followed weaving as his trade, turning
out various kinds of flannels and other woollen goods
from his shop. Mrs. Howitt died in 1885 and Mr.
Howitt in 1890. Their daughter Mary (Mrs. D. Rus-
nell) lives in Stoulfville. Their son, James Howitt, has
for many years been a well-known and highly respected
citizen of Uxbridge Township, having been collector of
taxes for the township for sixteen years. Of the family
of James Howitt, jr., three live in Pickering, namely
Mrs. Carruthers (Lot 32, Con. 8), Mrs. John Forgie
(Lot 19, Con. 9), Mrs. J. Soden (Lot 18, Con. 5). Two
others, Mrs. George Coates and Mrs. Wideman, live
respectively in Uxbridge and Markham.

Hubbard. — Thomas Hubbard is believed to have come
to Pickering in the closing years of the eighteenth cen-
tury. The earliest municipal records represent him as
taking an active part in public affairs. He was three
times married. Of the first family there were two
sons — ^David, who was a shoemaker and lived on Lot
23, Con. 6, and Ichabod, who lived on Lot 20, Con. 5.
Of the second there was one son, Andrew, who lived on
Lot 24, Con. 6. Of the third there were James, Brock,

252

PICKERING PEOPLE

Stephen, Isaac, Esther, Hulda and Mary Ann. Thomas
Hubbard died in 1853 at the age of 94.

Andrew Hubbard married Content Webb. Their
family were: George, who lived for a time on Lot 18,
Con. 4, but afterwards went to the United States;
Thomas, who married Harriet Churchill and lived on
Lot 24, Con. 6. Of their family are Charlotte, after-
wards Mrs. Greenwood ; Isabella, afterwards Mrs. George
Decker, and Charles; EM, who went to the States;
William W., who married Mary Bentley (still living
in Brougham) ; Elizabeth (Mrs. Casper Willson) ; Mary
(Mrs. Southworth) ; Louisa (Mrs. John Percy), and
Sarah (Mrs. John Press).

James Hubbard lived near Brougham. His wife was
Mary Cassie. Their family were Margaret and Jennie
(Mrs. Williams).

Brock Hubbard was the father of Thomas Hubbard,
for years hotel-keeper in Brougham, and Jesse Hubbard
of Lot 32, Con. 5.

Stephen Hubbard was born in 1805. He married Helen
Millar and lived just northeast of Claremont. He died in
1883 and his wife in 1887. Their family were : Eliza-
beth (Mrs. McKeown of Whitchurch) ; Janet (Mrs.
James Digby) ; Robert and John (who both died within
the year 1895) ; Agnes (Mrs. Cowan) ; Margaret (Mrs.
Gibson); Elsie (Mrs. Pickett), and Duncan, who is
well-known as a successful teacher.

Hughes. — James Hughes was born in Northumber-
land County, Pennsylvania, in 1773. He and his wife
Martha Penrose were members of the Society of Friends
connected with the Catawissa Monthly Meeting. In

253

PAST YEAES IN PICKERING

1805 they came to Canada West, driving overland, and
in the month of November settled in TJxbridge. A few
years later they moved to Pickering, settling where the
village of Kinsale now is. In 1853 they removed to the
home of their son-in-law. Wing Rogers, Lot 6, Con. 6,
where their remaining years were spent. Martha Hughes
died in 1856, aged 75 years, and James Hughes in 1867,
aged 93.

Hutchinson. — Foster Hutchinson was born in the
Township of Clarke and came to Pickering Nov. 22nd,
1875. Since then he has been well known and highly
esteemed as a citizen, residing for a time at Balsam
and in later years in Claremont. He served the Metho-
dist Church for many years as class leader and Sunday
school superintendent. In 1884 he was appointed tax
collector for the municipality and served continuously
for twenty-five years in such a manner as to give com-
plete satisfaction to all. In April of this centennial
year he removed to Stouffville.

Jackson. — James Jackson came to Canada about the
year 1846 and settled on the Br()ck Road, where he lived
till his death about ten years ago. His son, William
H. Jackson, was the first Postmaster of Brock Road
when the office was opened in 1891 and still continues
to hold the office, continuing as well his father's business
as a blacksmith.

Johnston. — Arthur Johnston was born in County
Tyrone, Ireland, in 1839, and came to Canada with
his parents five years afterward, settling in the Town-
ship of Caledon. He fitted himself for service as a

354

PICKERING PEOPLE

school teacher, in which profession he spent some years,
but eventually went into farming, in which he has
been very successful. He now lives in Brooklin, Ont.
A younger brother, George Johnston, is a much respected
citizen of Claremont, having retired there from his
farm in Whitby Township a few years ago.

Johnston. — Oliver Johnston was born in County
Fermanagh, Ireland, in 1803, and came to Canada in
1821. He settled on Lot 16, Con. 6. In 1847 he mar-
ried Elizabeth Smith. They had a family of ten chil-
dren: John, Arthur and William (all of Collingwood
Township) ; Sarah (Mrs. Carscadden) ; Thomas, who
married Anna Rogers (now of Howick Township) ;
Mary A. (deceased) ; Sophia (Mrs. Henry Russell) ;
Martha (Mrs. David Russell, Lot 15, Con. 7), and
Lancelot, who married Emily Taylor and lives on the
old homestead. Oliver Johnston died in 1897 and his
wife in 1908.

Kerr. — George Kerr was born in South Monaghan
in 1828 and came to Canada in early life. He was
educated at Victoria University and went into mercan-
tile life. He saw active service at the time of the
Fenian Raid. Later he entered the employ of the
Ontario Bank and was manager for a time in Whitby
and later in Pickering. In later years he was manager
of the Western Bank in Pickering. He died in April,
1908.

King. — Enoch and Mrs. King came from Kingstanley,
near Gloucester, in England, in 1868, and settled in the
Second Concession, where they still live.

255 ; _ _,

PAST YEAES IN PICKERING

King. — John King and his wife, natives of Aber-
deen, Scotland, settled in the Sixth Concession in 1856,
where they still live.

Knottles. — William Knowles with his wife and
family came from New Jersey in 1803, travelling by
wagon and coming round the west end of Lake Ontario.
At Grimsby another child was added to their family.
They settled in Scarboro, where Mr. Knowles continued
his trade as blacksmith. He died in 1825 and his wife
in 1843. Of his family three, Richard, Daniel and
Anna, lived in Scarboro; Abraham lived on Lot 20,
B. F., Pickering, and John owned Lot 21, B. F. One
daughter married D. F. Burk of Bowmanville and an-
other Asa Post, the latter living on Lot 4, Con. 2,
Pickering.

Knox. — Alexander Knox was born in Edinburgh in
1809. In 1832 he married Jane Henderson and shortly
afterwards they came to Canada, a six weeks' voyage,
and settled on Lot 19, Con. 3, where they spent their
lives. Mr. Knox died in 1867 and Mrs. Knox in 1901.

Lamoreaux. — James Lamoreaux was pathmaster in
1812. He was of Huguenot descent and had lived
in the United States. He bore arms in the War of
Independence. His pioneer experience included one or
more trips to Kingston with a grist in a boat which
had been built on the Rouge River. Mr. Peake and
another settler were his companions. The voyage took
about three weeks. Two grandsons, James and Thomas
Lamoreaux, still live at Dunbarton.

256

PICKEEING PEOPLE

Lapp. — In the year 1812 Henry Lapp, of Hamburg,
Germany, was "bought off" from the army and came to
Canada. He appears to have immediately enlisted in
the Canadian militia and took part in the defence of
Little York. He is said to have fired the last shot before
the capture of the place by the Americans. On being
released he settled near Cedar Grove, in Markham,
and finding a maiden in the Pennsylvania Dutch settle-
ment to his mind made her his wife.

Their third son, Andrew Lapp, came to Pickering,
in 1846, settling on the south half of Lot 31, Con. 8.
In 1849 he married Mary Jane Paul. Their family
were the following: Elizabeth, Esther, Levi, Emma
and Evelina (twins), Seth and Samuel (twins), Amos,
David, Alexander and Ida.

Larkin. — Thomas Larkin came from County An-
trim and settled on Lot 33, Con. 4, in 1839. In 1846
he married Annie Garland. He died in 1857. The
farm is still occupied by his son, John.

Patrick Larkin came to Pickering in 1843, settling
on Lot 9, Con. 6. In 1855 he married Mary O'Leary.
He took a deep interest in the affairs of the township
and was tax collector for nearly twenty years. In
later years he removed to Toronto, where he died in
1908.

John Larkin came to Pickering in 1849 and lived
first at Greenwood, moving later to Lot 13, B.F. He
married Sarah Kehoe in 1859. He died in 1902. The
farm is still occupied by his son Henry.

Law. — Robert Law, with his wife, Sarah McKnight,
came from England about the year 1840. They had a

17 257

P.AST YEARS IN PICKEEING

1
family of eight, the youngest being an mfant at the
time of their coming out. They lived on the N. of Lot
27, Con, 8. Their family were as follows: William
and Robert (U. S.), John (Meaford), Joseph (lived on
the old farm, died 1901), Thomas (Walkerton), Jane
(Mrs. James Richardson), Ann (Mrs. Andrew Allison),
Mary (Mrs. David Strachan).

Joseph Law married Anne Leaper. Their son Wil-
liam died at the age of 18. Their daughter, Mrs. F.
Spoffard, still lives in Claremont.

Lawson. — David Lawson, who made his home in
Dunbarton, died suddenly in the year 1896.

His brother, James Lawson, married Isabella Gil-
christ and lived on Lot 29, Gon. 3. He died in 1897
and his wife in 1911. Their family are Elizabeth
(deceased), David, Mary (Mrs. C. W. Holmes), Alex-
ander (on the farm), Isabella, Wftlliam, Christena
(Mrs. A. Stover) and George.

Lawson. — Thomas Lawson, a native of Cumberland,
England, came to Canada in the early thirties, living
for some time in Markham. In 1851 he came to Lot
34, Con. 3, where he farmed for sixteen years. Then he
went to York, and some years later died at Whitby. Of
his family of five sons and five daughters, James is
still living near Claremont; Elizabeth (Mrs. Rev. J. H.
Starr) taught school for some time at Green River;
Robert is at Osgoode Hall, Toronto; Stephen is em-
ployed with the T. Eaton Company in Winnipeg, and
Mrs. Mustard lives in Stouffville.

258

PICKERING PEOPLE

Leaper. — Thomas Leaper was born in Yorkshire,
JSTovember 26th, 1803, and came to Canada in 1830.
He spent a short time at Niagara and then lived for
four years at Newmarket and three at Victoria Square,
after which he came to Pickering, settling east of Clare-
mont on the Ninth Concession. He was married in
1833 to Ann Wallace. Being converted in 1840, through
the ministry of Father Lacey, he was thenceforward
a faithful worker in the Bethel Church and for many
years an office bearer of the congregation there. He
died December 34th, 1875, and his funeral sermon was
preached by Eev. W. C. Allen. Mrs. Leaper died in
1883.

Their family were: Mary (Mrs. Lorriman), Thomas,
Ann (Mrs. Law), William, still living at Claremont,
and Susannah (Mrs. W, A. Bell).

Lehman. — ^Daniel Lehman, born in Pennsylvania
in 1805, located in Markham in 1837, and in 1833
bought the south half of Lot 35, Con. 8. In 1835 he
married Susannah Byer, of Markham, and came to
live on the farm. He erected a sawmill, which con-
tinued in busy and successful operation as long as he
lived. He died in 1867 and Mrs. Lehman in 1883.

Of his family, David, the eldest son, operated a saw-
mill for many years in Uxbridge Township, and now
lives at Gormley. Samuel lived for a number of years
on Lot 25, Con. 9, and now manages a grist and woollen
mill at Almira. Abrahana continued to operate the
sawmill on Lot 35, Con. 8, after his father's death till
a few years ago, when it was transformed into a
chopping mill, in which he still does a large business

259

PAST YEARS IN PICKE^lJ^a

Anthony conducted a milling business for some years
at Laskey and now owns a mill at Delhi, Ont. Nancy
(Mrs. H. Barkey) died some years since near Stouffville.
Elizabeth married the Eev. John S. Hoover, a, minister
of the Old Mennonite Church, and lives on Lot 35,
Con. 9.

Linton. — Robert Linton, a native of Yorkshire, came
to Canada in 1828. Returning, he came back two years
later, 1830, with his brother Isaac. They settled on
Lot 16, B. F., where Robert's son, John Linton, still
lives.

Isaac Linton came to the Eighth Concession in the
later thirties and settled on Lot 13. In 1842 he mar-
ried Hannah Coultice, who had also come from York-
shire in 1830. Their son, William Linton, still lives
on the farm. Isaac Linton died in 1893 at the age of
88. Mrs. Linton still lives with her son in a hale and
hearty old age. She delights to recount the early days
and their varied experiences. She remembers the palmy
days of Primitive Methodism in Pickering, when at
special meeting and camp-meeting times men and
women came from far and near to hear the gospel, when
stony hearts were broken and sinners found the gladness
of a great joy arising in their hearts. She remembers
the unstinted hospitality which provided for the needs
of those who came from far, there being times when
there were "eighteen or nineteen beds going" at their
home. She cherishes among her peculiar treasures a
trowel bearing the inscription "Presented to Mrs. Han-
nah Linton on the occasion of her laying the corner
stone of the Methodist church, Claremont, July 25th,

260

PICKERING PEOPLE

1889." It is related that she not only laid the stone,
but placed one hundred dollars on it as her offering,
and made forty pies for the entertainment held in
connection.

William Linton's family are: Elizabeth (Mrs. Mor-
gan Evans, Lot 13, Con. 8), Almira (Mrs. William
Middleton, Lot 10, Con. 6), Alice (Mrs. Judson Ward,
Whitby), Emma, Etta (Mrs, Fred Ward), Norman,
Levi, Beatrice (Mrs. Bayles, Lot 12, Con. 7).

Linton. — Brian Linton died in 1872, aged 76. His
wife, Elizabeth, died in 1878. Their sons were Brian,
who married Ellen Middleton, Joseph, who married
Sarah Norton, and Thomas.

Moses Linton, brother of Brian, lived on Lot 11,
Con. 8. His family were Moses (Lot 9, Con. 8), Mark,
Mary and Jane.

Mackat. — Donald Mackay, a Scotchman who had
spent some years in the British West Indies, on March
28th, 1834, (as recorded in his journal), "left Ber-
bice for Demerara. April 5th, sailed for New York,
where he arrived on the 11th of May. Albany on the
15th, Buffalo on the 22nd, Niagara on the 24th, Tor-
onto the same night. Bought the farm, No. 6, in the
Second Concession of the Township of Pickering for
£450 Upper Canada currency. The farm contains 98
acres, 65 acres clear, 20 acres in crop. There is a log
house, barn and shed for wagons, ploughs, etc.'* A
substantial stone house was erected in 1854, said to have
cost £800. It was burned down about the year 1882.

His family are: Margaret, Angus (in charge of the
Dominion Experimental Farm at Indian Head, Sask),

261

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

Diana (Mrs. De Hart), Eliza (of Indian Head), Alex-
ander (of Lindsay), William (deceased) and Frank.

M'ACKEY. — Sylvester Mackey lives on Lot 2, Con. 6.
He was councillor in 1869 and 1874, deputy reeve in
1877 and from 1884 till 1889. He was reeve in 1889.

Levi Mackey, brother of Sylvester, lived on Lot 1,
Con. 6. He was auditor 1877-1881, assessor 1881-1887
and township engineer 1883-1888. He now lives in
Toronto.

Macnab. — Peter Macnab, a native of Argyleshire,
who had spent a number of years in Glasgow, came to
Claremont in 1856. Three years before his son, Wil-
liam Macnab, had begun business in the village, and in
1855 two other sons, Duncan and John, had followed.
With their father came their sister, Margaret, now Mrs.
B. S. Palmer. Mr. Macnab was a typical Scotchman,
respected by all and a friend of every good cause. He
had been an elder in the Presbyterian Church for nine
years before coming to Canada and he held that office
in the Claremont congregation from 1873 till the close
of his life. He died in 1895, being over ninety-seven
years of age.

His son, William Macnab, moved to Flesherton in
1858, and later to Owen Sound, where he died in 1866.
His wife afterward returned to Claremont, where she
resided till her death in 1894. Their son and daughter,
Peter Macnab and Miss Mary Macnab, still live in
Claremont.

The other two sons, Duncan and John, have been
known for fifty years as among the most successful
business men of the village of Claremont. As partners

262

PICKEEING PEOPLE

in the Macnab Store they conducted business in the
village from 1859 till 1898. In 1873 John Macnab
married Sophia Michell, daughter of John C. Michell.
Their family are: John Charles (of Uxbridge), and
Peter and Miss Margaret, who still live in Claremont.
Mrs. Macnab died in 1880 and Mr. Macnab in 1910.
He had been postmaster of Claremont for fifty years.
Mr, Duncan Macnab still lives at "Sandbank," in the
village of Claremont.

Madill. — Henry Madill, having lived successively in
Toronto, Markham and Darlington, settled on Lot 20,
Con. 7. His wife was Phoebe Sharrard. Their family
were: Joshua B., James H. (Lot 19, Con. 7), Joel,
John (Stouffville), Wixon, Ann (Mrs. Burnham, Ux-
bridge), and Sylvanus (Lot 19, Con. 6).

Benjamin Madill, a native of Ireland, came in the
early thirties to Markham. His son Henry settled in
the Seventh Concession, which is still held by his grand-
son, James H. Madill.

Another grandson, James Madill, lived for many
years on Lot 14, Con. 7, and now resides in Claremont,
being this year (1911) one of the police trustees.

Major. — About the middle of the eighteenth century
three brothers bearing the name of Major — John, Uriah
and Thomas — emigrated from Coothill, in Ireland, to
the New England colony of Vermont. Here John, who
afterwards became the pioneer of the Majors of Pick-
ering, married Margaret Eeynolds, with whom on the
outbreak of the Revolutionary War he betook himself
first to Nova Scotia and afterward to the then far-dis-
tant western province of Upper Canada.

263

PAST YEARS IN" PICKERING

They settled in the Fifth Concession of Pickering
and their descendants have been among the important
constituents of the later population of the township.
The village which gradually sprang up, and is now
known as Whitevale, bore for many years the family
name, being known as Majorville,

His daughter Mary married William Sleigh. Their
family were: John, Thomas, Caroline (Mrs. Israel
Burton), Harriet (Mrs. T. P. White) and Tabitha
(Mrs. William De Mott).

His daughter Hannah married Peter Matthews, who
suffered execution at the close of the Rebellion of 1837.

His son Samuel married Mary Smith. Their family
were: William, Edward, Frank, Samuel, Wesley, Mar-
garet and Abigail. William married Emma White, by
whom he had the following family: William, Henry
(Lot 27, Con. 5), Emma, Mary Maud (Mrs. Rev. I. N.
Robinson), Lydia Gertrude (Mrs. Adam Whitson) and
Lily (Mrs. E. A. Thornton).

His son Henry married Jane Smith as his first wife.
Their family were: Mary (Mrs. Joseph Vardon),
Charles (still, 1911, living in Flint, Mich.), Thomas,
Sidney, William and Frederick. He married as his
second wife Lydia A. Hawkins. Their family were:
Henrietta (Mrs. Herrick), Margaret Ellen (Mrs. Mc-
Crodan, Gait), James (Los Angeles), Eliza (Mrs. J.
L. Spink, Toronto), Lucy Elizabeth (Mrs. T. Ward,
Condy, Sask.), John Sleigh (Seattle), Susan A. (Mrs.
W. H. Emsley, Napanee), Albert Edward (Lot 24,
Con. 4), Walter Scott and Henry Hilton (Whitevale).

His son Thomas married Hannah Smith. The three

264

:henry major

PICKERING PEOPLE

Major brothers married the three Smith sisters. Thomas'
family were: Eleanor (Mrs. Alfred Turner), Jane (Mrs.
Charles Churchill) and Julia (Mrs. Barnum).

Marquis. — Thomas Marquis married Annie Dickie.
Their family are as follows: Mrs. James Andrew, of
Pickering; Annie, at home; Charles E., of Killarney,
Man., formerly of the firm of Dickie & Marquis, Pick-
ering; William James, inspector of city schools. Two
Harbors, Minn., and Herbert J., farmer, Pickering.

McAvoY. — James McAvoy purchased Lot 3, Con. 7
in 1839 from J. S. Macaulay. His son, Robert W.
McAvoy, still occupies the farm.

Christopher McAvoy and Mary Kerr were married
in Carrick-a-duff, County Armagh, Ireland, in 1830,
and came to the township of Whitby in that year. After
working among the Quakers for three years Mr. McAvoy
settled on Lot 8, Con. 8, where they spent the rest of
their lives. His parents also came out and spent the
closing years of their lives with him on the farm. Chris-
topher McAvoy and his wife both died in the year
1888. His son, T. C. McAvoy, still lives on Lot 8,
Con. 7.

McBeady. — Daniel McBrady was born at St. John's
Point, County Donegal, Ireland, in June, 1818. He
came to Canada in the spring of 1837, settling first
near Whitby and afterward at the village of Audley,
where he remained till six years previous to his death,
which occurred on January 27th, 1907. He was mar-
ried in April, 1847, to Ellen Broderick, a native of
Kilkenny, Ireland, Mrs. McBrady died June 6th, 1907,
at the age of 77 years.

265

PAST YEAES IN PICKERING

Of their family of twelve one, Mrs. Cowan, still lives
on the Brock Eoad. Two sons have been prominent
in the profession of law, "William McBrady, K. C, of
Port Arthur, and L. Vincent McBrady, K. C, of Tor-
onto. Another son, Eobert, is now Eev. Father Mc-
Brady, of Toronto. A fourth, James, lived in the
township till recently, being several years a member of
council. He now lives in Oshawa.

McC'AusLAND. — William McCausland in 1815 pur-
chased Lot 7 on the lake front from a Mr. Eennefield.
His grandson, born 1830, still lives on the farm. There
is on the farm an old graveyard, the graves being marked
by large stones, but no one knows who sleeps beneath.

McFarlane. — James McFarlane, a native of Glasgow,
came to Canada with his family in company with his
father-in-law in 1848. They settled on Lot 20, Con.
9. His family were John, Marion, Margaret, David
and James.

David McFarlane married Mary McDonald, daughter
of Graham McDonald, of Claremont. Their family
are : Mrs. McCreight, of Markham ; Mrs. Eawson, of
Uxbridge Township; Miss Agnes McFarlane, of Clare-
mont; James, now in the Peace Eiver country; David,
in Saskatchewan, and David and John, who are Do-
minion land surveyors at work in the far north-west
of Canada.

McCreight. — James McCreight, a native of Ireland,
came to Canada in 1834 and settled just north of what
is now the village of Cherrywood, named at his sugges-
tion from a place in his native land. He served for

266

PICKERING PEOPLE

a number of years in the council and was reeve in the
years 1865, 1867 and 1868.

McPhee. — Donald McPhee, a native of Mull, Argyle-
shire, came from Scotland to Canada about the year
1855. He conducted a general store in Whitevale and
was postmaster for a number of years. He was one
of the organizers of the Baptist church in Whitevale in
1864, and was prominent in the life and work of that
congregation for many years. He died in 1895, aged
85. His eldest son, John Donald, was for many years
book-keeper and manager of the milling business of T.
P. White. He died in 1868. Another son, also named
John Donald, is now manager of the Rennie Seed Co.
Three daughters, Kate, Mary and Hattie, live in Ham-
ilton, while a fourth, Bella (Mrs. William McBirnie),
resides in Cleveland.

McQuAY. — James McQuay was born in County Fer-
managh, Ireland, in 1809, and in 1829, with his
widowed mother and brothers, William, Thomas, John
and Benjamin, and sister Ann came to Canada, the
voyage in a sailing vessel being said to have taken
fourteen weeks. They settled on the rear of Lot 6,
Con. 3. James McQuay was married in 1836 and
reared a family of three sons and six daughters. Al-
though never in a public office he was known as an
honest and upright man the township over. He died
in 1887.

Mechin. — ^The Mechin brothers, James and William,
came from Tyrone, Ireland, early in the second quar-
ter of the century and settled on Lot 19 in the seventJi

267

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

concession. James was not married and lived with his
))rother till his death. William Mechin married Mary
A. Dixon. He died in 1886 and his wife in 1892.
Tlieir family were James (died 1899), William (de-
ceased), Hugh (merchant in Brougham), Mary A.
(Mrs. Isaac Middleton, deceased 1905), Jane (Mrs.
Andrew Johnston of Claremont), George (deceased
1895), Elizabeth (Mrs. Joel Madill), Caroline (Mrs.
Andrew Johnston, Toronto), and Lucinda (Mrs.
Shank).

MiCHELL. — William Henry Michell and his brother,
John C. Michell, were born in London, England. The
family is believed to have been of Scotch descent, but
a generation or two had lived in France, whence the
form of the name. W. H. Michell had been in the
service of the Bank of England. They were 13 weeks
on the ocean and eventually reached Toronto and then
made their way to Pickering, where they settled on
Lot 33 in the 8th Con, On the voyage he met Miss
Ellen Tracy, who with her parents also came to Picker-
ing, and to whom he was married on May 25th, 1836,
the result of the union being a family of five sons and
two daughters. Beside the ordinary avocations of the
pioneer he did a good deal of conveyancing and was
personally known all over the township. He was the
first reeve of Pickering on the organization of the
municipality in 1850 and held the position for the two
following years also. He was magistrate for some
years, and even after resigning the position was at
times called upon to act as mediator in settling dis-
putes. On the death of Peter Perry he was elected

268

JOHN MICHELL

PICKEEING PEOPLE

member of Parliament for South Ontario, but before
he took his seat there was a dissolution and a new elec-
tion, in which Amos Wright was the successful candi-
date. He died in 1884 in his 80th year and was buried
in the Machpelah cemetery. His wife died in 1891 in
her 76th year.

His family are: Henry (deceased, father of Mrs. Pil-
key and Mrs. Gibson of Claremont), Mary E. (Mrs.
Scarr), Charles and William (in Toronto), Alfred
(Stouffville), Frank (inspector of public schools in
Lanark) and Catherine (Mrs. Cooper, Claremont).

Among his grandchildren, Albert Michell is a medical
doctor in Dublin, Ont., William is principal of Eiver-
dale Collegiate Institute in Toronto, Allan is a dentist
in Toronto and Eupert is a physician practising in
Toronto and was the surgeon of the Shackleton expe-
dition to the Antarctic.

John C. Michell settled on Lot 13, Con. 8, and
married a daughter of x^ndrew Thompson of the Fifth
Concession. He was one of the pioneer millers and
storekeepers of the Claremont neighborhood. His fam-
ily were: Sophia (Mrs. John M. Macnab, deceased
1880), Bella, who died in early life, and Tobias, who
married Miss Bell and lived for a time on the farm
south of Claremont, but died some years ago. Mr.
Michell died in 1873.

MiDDLETON. — ^Charles Middleton, born 1816, a native
of Yorkshire, in early life visited Germany, Austria and
the United States. In the latter country he married
Jane Carlyle, then five years out from Dumfriesshire,
in Scotland. Coming to Canada about 1845, they

269

PAST YEAES IN PICKEEING

settled on the 6th of Uxbridge, which was their home
for nearly thirty years. In 1873 Mrs. Middleton died,
and the following year Mr. Middleton moved to Clare-
mont, where he lived till his death in 1909. Their two
daughters are M!rs. Pugh and Mrs. Joseph Eeadman, of
Claremont.

iGreorge Middleton settled on Lot 13, Con. 7, in
1854, where he spent the remainder of his life. His
wife died in 1895, and he in 1903 at the age of 86.
Their family of ten children are all still (1911) living.
They are James, John and Eichard H., who live in the
township of Flos, Mary (Mrs. Gauslin, Lot 14, Con. 7),
Jane (Mrs. Burgess), Elizabeth (Mrs. Usher), Matilda
(Mrs. Story), George (Lot 13, Con. 7), Hannah (Mrs.
Gibson) and William (Lot 10, Con. 6).

Miller. — William Miller, a native of Dumfriesshire,
Scotland, came to Pickering in 1839 and settled on
Lot 25, Con. 7. He was preceded a considerable period
by his brother George, who settled in Markham town-
ship, and in 1832 by his son, John Miller (Thistleha').
With him came his wife and the rest of his family,
namely, Andrew, who afterward lived in Hamilton, and
whose daughter. Miss Effie Miller, now lives at Clare-
mont; Eobert, who lived just east of Pickering till his
death in 1911, and whose son, William Miller, still lives
there; William who lived for a time on the old home-
stead, but later went to Storm Lake, Iowa, and Eliza-
beth (Mrs. William Scott) who lives near Claremont.
Mr. Miller died in 1879 aged 87 years and Mrs. Miller
in 1882 at the age of 85.

John Miller was born near Annan, Dumfries, Scot-

270

PICKEEING PEOPLE

land, on May 12th, 1817. On April 12th, 1835, he left
Scotland in a sailing vessel for Canada, arriving in
Markham on the first of June. For five years he lived
with his uncle, George Miller, of Markham, and then,
his parents and the otliier members of the family
having come out, they settled on the "Atha Farm," (Lot
25, Con. 7). In 1848 he bought the farm since known
as "Thistleha'," where he spent the rest of his life. He
married Margaret Whiteside and had the following
family: William (deceased), Kobert (of Stouffville),
James (deceased), John (of Thistleha'), Ellen (Mrs.
David Burns), Agnes (deceased), Elizabeth (Mrs.
Walter Eenfrew) and Margaret. Mr. Miller married
as his second wife Elizabeth Boyer. Their family are
as follows, George, Andrew, Henry and Mary. Besides
his work as farmer and importer and breeder of stock
Mr. Miller took an active interest and a prominent
part in the public life of the municipality. He served
the township as councillor and reeve for many years
and in 1876 was elected Warden of the County. He
died at his home, Thistleha', in 1904, having reached
the ripe old age of 87 years.

Milne. — James Milne came to Canada in the year
1840 from near Edinburgh, Scotland. On the same
vessel came Annie Cowie, who afterward became his
wife. She came in company with the Strachan family.
After their marriage they lived on Lot 24, Con. 6,
where Mr. Milne worked as a blacksmith. About 1855
they moved to Lot 3, Con.' 3, Uxbridge, where they
remained till 1&60, when they returned to Pickering.
Mr. Milne worked for a time on Lot 26, Con. 5, and

271

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

later for three years at Atha (corner of the Stewart
farm), but eventually went back to the farm in Ux-
bridge, where the rest of his life was spent. Mrs. Milne
died in 1884 and Mr. Milne in 1898 at the age of 82.
Their family are as follows: Elizabeth (Brooklin),
Harriet (Mrs. Barnett, Winnipeg), James (Lot 3, Con.
3, Uxbridge), Mary (Mrs. William Cassie, Lot 21, Con.
6), Isabella (Mrs. James Forgie, Claremont), William
(Toronto) and John (Winnipeg).

Milne. — George Milne was born in Banffshire, Scot-
land, in 1814 and came to Canada in 1831. He married
Catharine Dow, daughter of William Dow of Whitby
(also formerly of Banffshire). They settled on Lot 26,
Con. 6. Mr. Milne died in 1871 and Mrs. Milne in 1901.
Their family were: James, who went to Western Can-
ada; William, who taught school for a number of years
in the township and afterward graduated in medicine
and practised in Claremont till his death in 1882 ; Rob-
ert, who married Euphemia Brown and still lives on
Lot 30, Con. 6; John D., who lives in Ingersoll;
Thomas, who lives in Toronto; Margaret (Mrs. Percy),
Robina and Jennie (Mrs. Eastwood).

MoNKHOUSE. — John Monkhouse came from Cumber-
land, England, in 1851, to Altona. He died in 1855 and
his wife, Sarah Monkhouse, in 1862. Their sons were
Joseph and Thomas Monkhouse, of Altona.

Joseph Monkhouse came to Canada in 1849 and began
storekeeping in Altona the following year. In 1857 he
married Christena Reesor, and leaving the store began
milling. In 1865 his wife died. In 1874 he moved to
Lot 32, Con. 9, and for twelve years managed the faim.

272

JOSEPH MONKHOUSE

PICKERING PEOPLE

His second wife was Elizabeth Kester. Besides being
a successful business man and farmer he took consid-
erable interest in public affairs and served for ten years
in the council, being reeve from 1884 to 1887 and
warden of the county in the latter year. On his bro-
ther's death in 1886 he returned to the store, contin-
uing till his death in 1903. He was succeeded by his
son, Willis J. Moukhouse, who still continues the busi-
ness.

MooN". — James Moon, with his wife and family, came
from Somersetshire in 1832, the cholera year, crossing
the Atlantic in the ship "Usk." Settling in the front
of the township, Mr. Moon engaged in teaching for a
time, but eventually moved to the township of Peach.

Morgan". — Alexander Morgan was born in jEdin-
burgh on January 6th, 1825. An interesting document,
now in possession of his son, Mr. George Morgan, Clare-
mont, recalls the date. It reads as follows :

"Registered for Baptism.

Canongate, 19th January, 1825.

To William Morgan, smith in James Street, and

Margaret Gray, his Spouse, a son born the 6th

current named

Alexander

N.B. The character of the Person to be certified
by a member of Session, and this to be carried to
the minister of Canongate or if to any other min-
ister to have their attestation to it.
John Millar Sess. Clk.
Alex. McDougal, Elder."
la 273

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

In 1832, Mr. Morgan, then seven years of age, sailed
with his parents from the port of Leith for the new
world. The vessel was a new one and scarcely com-
pleted at the date appointed for her sailing. Being
threatened with the law by passengers in waiting she
sailed, but passing round the north of Scotland put in
to Stronmess and remained two weeks there, being
finally fitted for the long Atlantic voyage. Nine
weeks from their leaving Leith they reached Quebec.
A slow and tedious journey up the St. Lawrence by
Durham boats and along Lake Ontario brought them
to Toronto, or, as it then was. Muddy York. After
spending a month with an uncle at Thornhill they
settled in Markham. Here Mr. Morgan learned black-
smithing in his father's shop, he having brought his
tools, anvil, bellows, etc., in all weighing 2,800 pounds,
with him from Scotland. When twenty-two years of
age he came to Claremont, where he has resided ever
since. He married Elizabeth Sharrard. Their family
are as follows: Melissa (Mrs. William Evans), Margaret
(Mrs. David Pugh, deceased), William Thomas (died
at 17 years of age), Rachel (Mrs. James Evans), Eliza-
beth (Mrs. Magnus Henderson), Duncan (Uxbridge
townline), John (deceased), and George (N. Clare-
mont).

Mowbray. — Ralph Mowbray (whose father, John
Mowbray, was a native of Ayrshire, Scotland) was born
in Ireland in 1789. He married Catherine Walker and
afterward while still a young man came to Brooklyn,
•N.Y., where a number of years were spent. In 1833
they came to Canada, and settled on Lots 7 and 8 in
the rear of the 6th concession of Pickering. The first

274

PICKEEING PEOPLE

logging chain, and axes, as well as the first supplies,
were carried on his back from Little York. The only
settler near them at first was Samuel Hunger. Whitby
was for many years their base of supplies. Their family
were: Matilda, who is still (1911) living at the age of
92; John, who died from an injury in 1880 at the age
of 60; Hugh, who died 1910 at the age of 87; Ellen,
who died in 1904, aged 77; Philip, who died 1910,
aged 80, and Ealph, who died in 1886, aged 53.

John, above mentioned, married Martha Hyland and
settled in Eeach.

His son, Ealph E. Mowbray, the present (1911)
reeve of Pickering, returned to the township when a
young man of 24, and has been a resident within it ever
since. He has served the municipality in township and
county councils for eighteen years. He occupied the
warden's chair in 1893 and in 1909. On Saturday,
May 20, 1911, at the Liberal convention at "Whitby, he
was unanimously chosen as the candidate of the party
to contest the riding at the next provincial election.

Murray. — Thomas Murray, a native of Edinburgh,
and Louisa Graham, his wife, of Dumfriesshire, settled
in Claremont in 1851. He carried on business as a
blacksmith there till his death in 186'6. Of his family,
George migrated to Illinois in 1872, Thomas in 1874
and the rest of the family in 1881. Mrs. Murray died
in 1896. The two brothers are successful farmers. Two
sisters live with George.

NiGHSWANDER. — Michael Nighswander was born in
Maryland, U. S. A., in 1813. He came with his par-
ents and others of the family to Markham in 1824. His

275

PAST YEAPtS IN PICKERING

father dying shortly afterward, the family was scat-
tered and Michael lived with Christian Barkey, of Mark-
ham, till 1838, when he married Susannah Barkey and
moved to Lot 34, Con. 7. In 1845 he erected a sawmill
on the farm, in which he did a good business for forty-
five years. He died in 1881 and his wife in 1894. Their
family numbered ten, eight sons and two daughters, as
follows: Christian, married Mary "Williamson and lives
on Lot 35, Con. 7; Jacob, married Susannah Hoover,
and died 1905 ; Joseph, married Annie Hoover and lives
in Stouffville; Abraham, married Sarah Hoover and
lives in Stouffville; Frances (Mrs. Adam Spears), died
1888; David, married Anna Willson, and lives in Ke-
nora; Michael and Tilman, the latter of whom married
Mary Lehmann, live on the old homestead ; Henry, mar-
ried Rachel Willson, and lives in Toronto; Susannah
(Mrs. Jacob B. Hoover) lives on Lot 34, Con. 8.

O'Brien". — ^William O'Brien and his family came from
Nova Scotia in the early thirties and settled on Lot 19,
Con. 8. He died in 1840 and was buried at Machpelah,
the funeral sermon being preached by Mr. Barclay from
the text "0 Death, where is thy sting, 0 G-rave, where
is thy victory?" The O'Brien family were as follows:
Hugh (who married Jane Cooper) kept hotel in Clare-
mont, afterward farmed and then went to New York
State; William (who married Jane Jenkins, daughter
of Rev. William Jenkins, and two of whose sons still
live at Laskay), Nathaniel (of Markham), Ann (Mrs.
George Stokes), Jane (Mrs. Mosher), Esther (Mrs.
Lyons, of Markham) and Isabella (Mrs. Charles
Cooper).

■ 276

PICKEEING PEOPLE

O'Connor. — Dennis O'Connor came from County
Cork, Ireland, in 1831, and worked among the Quakers
of tlie south-eastern jjart of the township for a few
years, after which he took up 200 acres of bush land.
Lot 1, Con. 3. In the early days he often, in company
with some of his Eoman Catholic neighbors, walked to
Toronto on Saturday afternoons to attend the service
of his church on the following day. He married Mary
O'Leary, by whom he had three children (one of whom,
Denis O'Connor, was ordained priest in 1863 and became
successively President of Assumption College, Sandwich,
Bishop of London and Archbishop of Toronto. His
health having failed, he was succeeded about three years
ago by Archbishop McEvay, but still lives in Toronto).
Mr. O'Connor married as his second wife, Bridget O'Cal-
laghan, of Albion Township. Though unknown to him
at the time, she had come out on the same vessel with
him in 1831. They had a family of ten children, three
of whom still live in the neighborhood, George on the
old homestead and William and John in the township
of Whitby. Mr. O'Connor died in 1893 in his 91st
year and Mrs. O'Connor in 1901 in her 77th year.

Daniel O'Connor came to Canada with his wife and
family about the year 1837. He lived for a few years
in the south part of the township and then took up
200 acres S Yo Lots 1 and 2, Con. 7, where he lived
till 1868, when be moved to Lot 19, Con. 1, where he
lived till his death in 1876 (aged 83 years). Mrs.
O'Connor predeceased him nearly six years. They had
a family of eight, one of whom, Miss Ellen O'Connor,
still lives in Pickering village.

Jeremiah O'Connor came from Ireland with his wife

277

PAST YEAES IN PICKERING

and family about the year 1854. He lived on Lot 1,
Con. 3, till his death in 1871, at the age of 72. Mrs.
O'Connor died in 1890. They had a family of six
children, one of whom is still living — Mrs. Eiordan, of
Arthur, Ont. Their youngest son, John, was parish
priest of Maidstone, Essex County, for some years and
died a comparatively young man in 1890.

O'Leary. — George O'Leary came from Ireland in the
same vessel with Denis O'Connor in 1831. He lived
on N % Lot 6, Con. 4, which he cleared. He married
Mary O'Connor, she having come from Ireland about
1835. They had a family of eight, five of whom are
still living. Mr. O'Leary sold his farm in 1874 and
moved to Pickering village, where he lived until his
death in 1881 at the age of 85. Mrs. O'Leary died in
1879, aged 71.

Palmer. — Sherwood Palmer was born in Scarboro
in 1797. He married Martha Lamareaux in 1823 and
came to Pickering in 1834, settling on Lot 20, Con. 2.
Of his family of ten, five attained mature years, as fol-
lows: Isaac Palmer, born 1824, died 1892; James L.
Palmer, born 1826, died 1905; Sarah Ann Palmer,
born 1831, died 1893 ; Sherwood Palmer, born 1843, died
1869, and Charles S. Palmer, born 1846, and still living
in Pickering.

James L. Palmer when a boy attended school for
some years in Ohio, where one of his companions was
James Garfield, afterward President. James Palmer
for many years operated a sawmill on his farm, just
north of the Second Concession line. He served the
township as councillor and deputy reeve, and was one of

278

PICKEEING PEOPLE

the most prominent members of the Disciple church
on the Kingston Eoad. Mrs. Palmer (nee Anson) and
their family of three still live on the farm.

Palmer. — Samuel Palmer and Sarah Money, his wife,
came from London, England, to Canada in 1853 and
settled on Lot 25, Con. 8. Mr. Palmer was a cabinet-
maker by trade, but found it necessary to devote most
of his time and strength to the sterner business of chop-
ping, saw-logging and land-clearing. In later years he re-
tired to Claremont, where he died in 1866. Mrs.
Palmer died in 1873. Their family were: Sarah Ann,
who taught school for some years at Milligan's Corners,
walking the distance to her home every second week
(she afterward married Eichard Burton and lived on the
Seventh Concession till her death, in 1880) ; John, who
married Sarah Smith, and lived in Claremont, working
at his trade as a shoemaker, later moving to Mani-
toulin Island, where he died some years ago; Samuel,
who married Hannah Smith, and lived in Uxbridge,
where since his death Mrs. Palmer continues to reside;
Mary Ann, Avho married Frederick George, and still lives
in Stouffville; William, who married Sarah M. Elliott,
and went to Eolling Home, Missouri, where he still
lives; Shackel Benjamin, who married Margaret Mac-
nab, and worked at his trade as a shoemaker in Clare-
mont till his retirement a few years ago. (Their family
are: Isabella (Mrs. Thomas Gregg) and William M.
Palmer, of Claremont).

Parker. — John Parker came to Dunbarton in 1851
and was its first postmaster and storekeeper. He died
in 1895. See Chapter entitled "Three Dunbarton. Wor-
th ips "

PAST YEARS IN" PICKEEING

George Parker followed his father as postmaster and
storekeeper at Dunbarton. In the years 1885-92 he
was Deputy-Reeve of the township, and reeve in 1891
and 1892. After this he was treasurer of the township
till his death. He was for many years a justice of the
peace and leader of the choir in the Dunbarton Pres-
byterian Church. He died in January, 1910.

Peat. — Thomas and Mrs. Peat came from Largo,
Fifeshire, in June, 1835, and settled on Lot 29, Con.
2. Their family of one son and three daughters are
all deceased. Mr. Peat died May 31st, 1858, aged 73,
Mrs. Peat died March 14th, 1866, aged 82. Their
daughter Helen (Mrs. William Taylor) died May 11th,
1908.

Peecy. — John Percy emigrated from England in
1832 and settled on Lot 27, Con. 6. His wife was Eliza-
beth Young, and their family numbered eleven, of whom
four survive — Rev. W. Percy, of Stouffville; James
Percy, of Toronto; F. G. Percy, of Buffalo, and Uriah
Percy, who still lives on the farm.

Philip. — George Philip, Sr., on whose farm the
centennial celebration is appointed to be held, came to
Pickering from Aberdeenshire in 1852, and was for a
time a successful road and bridge contractor, but after-
ward settled on the farm. His wife was Marion Cowie,
who died in comparatively early life, leaving a family
of five. They are : Mrs. J. A. Young, of Toronto ; John
C, of Pickering Village ; Thomas, on the farm ; George,
Jr., merchant and postmaster. Brougham, and Mrs.
William Ashton, Uxbridge.

280

PICKERmG PEOPLE

Phillips. — John Phillips married Polly Sharrard,
daughter of James W. Sharrard, and lived on Lot 22,
Con. 5. Their family were: James, Sylvanus (teacher
in Markham and Whitby, and now P. S. inspector) and
Robert S. (assessor for some years, now of Eegina). By
liis second wife Mr. Phillips had two sons and a
daughter, George, John and Mina.

PiLKEY. — Peter Pilkey (or Peletier) was born at
Eiviere du Loup, P.Q., in 1774. In 1800 with his wife
he moved to Leslieville near Little York and in 1811
the family settled in Scarboro. He served during the
War of 1812 and won a medal. He lived to the ripe
old age of 82 and left a family of nine sons.

His son, Charles Pilkey, born at Leslieville in 1808,
married Jane Eorfar in 1831 and in 1840 moved to
Pickering, Lot 18, Con. 7. They endured all the
poverty, hardship and privation incident to pioneer
life, but persevered, and won at last a position of comfort
and wealth. On June 23rd, 1881, they celebrated their
golden wedding, when many friends gathered to con-
gratulate them. Squire Birrell was called u!)on to pre-
side and addresses were given by Mr. John Miller and
others. The names of their family are as follows:
Archibald, John C, Joseph, William, Jane, Thomas,
David, Agnes and Henry. Mr. Pilkey died in 1883
and his wife in 1894. Archibald married Hannah Bell
and lived on the 8th Concession, but later went to Buf-
falo where he died. John C. married Mary Carruthers
and went to London, Ont. Joseph married M. A. Ward
and died in 1908. [Their family are Elizabeth (Dec,
1872), Luther (Lot 18, Con. 7), Lyman J (Clare-

281

PAST YEAES IN PICKEEING

moiit), Adelia (Mrs. A. Mantle), Mary E. (Mrs. T. B.
Whiting), Alice (Mrs. F. Piigh) and Miss Jennie
(Claremont).] William married Hannah Ward, and
lives in Markham. Jane (Mrs. Alex. Spears) lives in
Uxbridge. Thomas lives in Scarboro. David married
M. J. Cochrane and lives at Balsam. Agnes (Mrs.
Eahme) lives in Uxbridge. Henry married Mary A.
Greig and lives on the Base Line.

Post. — Jordan Post, born in Connecticut in 1767,
settled in York, Upper Canada, about 1790. He mar-
ried Melinda Woodruff, of Pickering, He was a clock-
maker, but owned considerable land in what is now the
southern part of the city of Toronto. Jordan and
Melinda streets in the city are named after Mr. and Mrs.
Post. Later they moved to Scarboro, where his sons,
Jordan and Woodruff, were well known in after times.

His brother, George W. Post, settled in Pickering
very early in the history of the township, locating on
Lot 4, Con. 3. He died in 1837, leaving a family of
five sons and two daughters. The sons were Asa, John,
Hiram, George and Jordan. Their place in the days of
staging along the Kingston Eoad became one of the
stopping places where the horses were changed.

Jordan Post lived for many years at the foot of the
Brock Eoad. He established a sawmill on Duffin's
Creek just where the Brock Eoad crosses it. His daughter
Emma became Mrs. Dr. Field and Hattie Mrs. For-
rester.

PoucHER. — Daniel Poucher and his wife, Mary
Wynne Poucher, came to Canada in 1838 and settled
near Green Eiver. Though born in England he was of

282

PICKERING PEOPLE

Huguenot descent, his ancestors having left France
after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, one branch
settling in North Carolina and the other in Norfolk,
England. His wife was of Welsh descent, her father,
John Wynne, after having seen service throughout the
Napoleonic wars, having first settled in Herefordshire,
and afterward came to Canada. Of their family the
following are still living: Thomas (of Brougham),
George (ex-alderman of Barrie), John (broker, of To-
ronto), Daniel (of Poucher's Mills, Hastings County),
William (broker, of Edmonton) and Maurice (con-
tractor, of Toronto). Mr. Poucher died on the old
homestead in 1863 and Mrs. Poucher at her son's home
in Brougham in 1891.

Thomas Poucher, of Brougham, was born in 1842
and has spent practically his whole life in Pickering.
In 1864 he married Mary Anne Young, daughter of
James Young (of Somersetshire, England) and his
wife Catherine (daughter of Nicol Maclntyre, of the
Island of Mull, Scotland). Their family are:
Adelia (Mrs. Hugh Mechin of Brougham) and Nor-
man Young Poucher, Barrister-at-law, of Toronto. Mr.
Poucher has been for forty years a successful auctioneer,
and served in the council for many years, being reeve
in 1901 and 1902. In 1905 he was appointed a magis-
trate, and he has served the congregation of St. John's
Presbyterian Church for many years as manager and
elder. Of late Mr. Poucher has retired somewhat from
public business and lives quietly at Brougham, enjoying
as he always has done the confidence and esteem of the
whole community.

283

PAST YEARS IN PICKETING

Powell.— The Powell brothers, Caleb and Henry,
came to Pickering about the year 1815 and settled on
Lot 6. B. F. Caleb's family were William, Henry
and Bradford. William Powell married Susan Dil-
lingham, by whom he had a family of one son and four
daughters, as follows: Emma, (Mrs. Ellicott, Lot 16,
Con. 4), Amelia (Mrs. Smith, Toronto), Ida (Mrs.
Oke, Toronto), Hatty (Mrs. L. D. Banks, Pickering)
and Walter B., auctioneer of Pickering Village. Henry
Powell married Rachel Woodruff, by whom he had a
family of four sons and one daughter, as follows : John
(Lot 10, B.F., married M. Stanley), Harvey (Lot 6,
Con. 2, married Mrs. Davis), Bradford (of Oshawa),
Thomas (went to the United States) and Nettie (Mrs.
Richards, of Lot 3, B.E.). Bradford Powell was a
merchant in Whitby.

Henry Powell's family were Phoebe, James, William
Henry and Caleb. William Henry married Lucy Jane
Hall and lived on Lot 3, Con. 5, Uxbridge, but in later
years retired to Claremont, where he died in 1911. His
family are Ira (of Claremont), Angeline, (Mrs. A.
Bundy), Stephen (deceased), Elizabeth (Mrs. Thomas
Pilkey, deceased) and Albert, of Tracy, California.

PucKRiN. — Isaac Puckrin came from Scarboro in
1843 and settled on Lot 7, Con. 4. His wife was Ann
Brignall. Mrs. Puckrin died in 1895 and Mr. Puck-
rin in 1901. Their family are: Sarah (Mrs. William
Linton), Richard (Lot 9, Con. 3), John (Lot 7, Con.
4), Thomas (Lot 7, Con. 3), Mary Ann, Simon (Lot 8,
Con. 4) and William (Lot 3, Con. 3).

PuGH. — Hugh Pugh was born March 15th, 1777,
near Llanbadarnfynydd, in the County of Radnor, in

284

PICKERING PEOPJiiE

Wales. In February, 1805, he married Elizabeth Wil-
liams, who was born May 21st, 1787. They came to
Canada in 1842 and bought N i/^ Lot 26, Con. 4, from
Chauncey Reynolds. Mr. Pugh was a deacon in the
Claremont Baptist Church for some years till 1864,
when he became one of the organizers of the Whitevale
Baptist Church. His wife died June 26th, 1870, and
he three years later, August 4th, 1873. They were the
parents of thirteen children, of whom twelve lived to
mature years, namely : Hugh, William, Edward, David,
Josiah, Thomas, Stephen, Price, Eliza (Mrs. William
Lewis), Mary (Mrs. Chapman), Sarah (Mrs. James
Evans) and Elizabeth (Mrs. James White).

Hugh Pugh came to Canada in 1837, preceding his
father by five years. He married Hannah Smith and
lived in Uxbridge township. His son Robert still lives
in Pickering. Hugh Pugh died in 1883.

William Pugh left home in early life and has not
been heard of since.

Edward Pugh married Jane Evans in England, and
in 1847 they sailed for Canada, but Mrs. Pugh died on
the way. He settled on Lot 12, Con. 9. He died at
Balsam in 1894 at the age 83. His family were:
Edward, who married Ann Linton and settled in Chat-
ham township; David, who married Mary Meredith
and went to Milverton; Sarah (Mrs. Robert Ward,
deceased 1902), and Jane (Mrs. William Edwards,
of Balsam).

David Pugh came to Canada in 1846 and lived on
Lot 10 Con. 9. His wife was Sarah Evans. Their
family were: David (married Margaret Morgan),
Thomas (married Sarah Wiard), Edward (married

285

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

Jane Edwards), Jane (Mrs. Wier), Elizabeth (Mrs.
Thomas Leaper) and Sarah (Mrs. Percy). Mrs. Pugh
died in 1853, aged 34, and Mr. Pugh in 1904, aged
9L

Josiah Pugh married Jane Morgan and lived on Lot
27, Con. 4. Of their family George still lives on the
farm, Emma (Mrs. Hill) in Uxbridge township, Mar-
ion (Mrs. H. E. Poynter) on Lot 25, Con. 4, and Eliza-
beth (Mrs. Oxtaby) at Udora. Mr. Pugh died in
1897, aged 71 years, and Mrs. Pugh in 1907, aged
75.

Thomas Pugh married Anne Evans (daughter of
David Evans, who was for some years a prominent
Baptist elder and preacher in the township) in 1863.
They lived on Lot 26, Con. 4. Their family were:
Evangeline, (Mrs. William Bagshaw, deceased), David
E. (Lot 19, Con. 2), Thomas L. (deceased). Alma
(Mrs. A. Annis), Judson A. (Lot 27, Con. 4.), Hugh
(on the old farm) and Laura E. (Mrs. Rev. E. J.
Hawkings). Mr. Pugh died in 1896 at the age of 71.

Stephen Pugh married Elizabeth Lore and lived in
Uxbridge township. His daughter Margaret is Mrs.
Charles Middleton. Mr. Pugh died in 1894, aged 72.

Price Pugh married Mary Williams and lived in
Uxbridge, but later on Lot 24, Con 9. His son William
D. died in 1910, and his daughter Elizabeth still lives
with her mother in Claremont. Mr. Pugh died in
1900 at the age of 73.

Reazin. — Thomas Reazin was born in Ireland, Feb.
18th, 1798, and came to Canada in 1818. Two years
were spent in Prince Edward County and then with
William Wright, who had crossed the Atlantic on the

286

PICKERING PEOPLE

same vessel with him, he came to Pickering and the
two took up Lots 9 and 10 in the first concession. Here
the rest of their lives were spent. They were often
referred to as "Wright and Reazin." In 1828 Mr.
Eeazin married Sarah, daughter of Captain Samuel
Brock of Cobourg (captain both in the military and
marine senses of the term). His vessel often came up
Dui3fin's Creek in the early days to the old Gager Mill,
which was situated at the south end of Gordon's Grove,
and was then known as Brock's Landing. Thomas
Eeazin died in 1883, leaving a family of six.

Eeid. — Samuel Eeid a native of Suffolk came to
Canada in 1837 with his wife and family of five chil-
dren. During the harvest of that year he worked for
John Hamilton (afterward of Claremont) on the
Eowantree place, near Weston, Ont. After spending
eight or ten years in that neighborhood and ten years
on a farm in Markham they came to Pickering, settling
on Lot 16, Con. 8. His third son, John Eeid, still lives
in Claremont, his home being on the old Joseph Wixon
property, just north of the bend in the Brock Eoad.
Samuel Eeid died in 1870.

Richardson. — Joshua Eichardson with his wife and
family came from Queen's County, Ireland, about the
year 1820 and settled on Lot 3, B.F. They were Friends
and with their descendants have been continuously
members of the Friends' Meeting at Pickering. Their
family were: James, Eobert, John, William, Joshua,
Eliza (Mrs. Fothergill), Caroline (Mrs. George Mc-
Gillivray) and Mary (Mrs. Eowe).

James Eichardson married Elizabeth Valentine. Their

287

PAST YEARS IK PICKEEING

family were: Ann (Mrs. W. H. Eorke), Sarah (Mrs.
Thomas Rorke), Joshua (married Sarah Reazin)^ Kate
(Mrs. W. Rorke), Lizzie (Mrs. George Rorke), Emma
(Mrs. Lewis), William V. (married Sarah Cornell),
Mary Ann, Caroline, (Mrs. Alpheus McTaggart),
Louisa, Charlotte (Mrs. Joseph Clark) and James T.
(married Susan Betts).

Robert's family were: Mary A. (Mrs. Wright), Cath-
erine Maria (Mrs. Collins), Frederick, William Henry,
Edwin E., Sarah Eliza, Robert, Anna Sophia, Richard,
and Fanny M. (Mrs. Jones).

Richardson. — James Richardson, a native of Cum-
berland, England, settled on Lots 24 and 25, Con. 9.
He married Jane Law. Their family were: James (de-
ceased), Robert (living at Walkerton), Hannah (Mrs.
William Michell, deceased, Sarah (Mrs. Henry Michell,
deceased), Mary (Mrs. John Rawson, deceased), and
Ann (Mrs. H. Cooper, deceased). Mr. Richardson
married as his second wife Mary McBeath. Their son,
George, still occupies the farm. Mr. Richardson died in
1892. His wife died at the old home in April, 1911,
in her 88 th year.

Ridley. — John Ridley, a Yorkshireman, born 1809,
came to Pickering in the later twenties and had to do
with some of the initial enterprises of Duffin's Creek.
He helped cut the timber for a sawmill situated on
what is now "Gordon's Flats" and for a grist mill north
of the Kingston Road at the west end of the village.
He was one of the pioneers of Methodism in the village.
He married a daughter of Mr. John Matthews and
moved out to the neighborhood of Kinsale. Like many

288

PICKERING PEOPLE

others he used oxen, since horses were a luxury diffi-
cult to procure, and on a Sunday might be seen
with his wagon well loaded with neighbors (many
of whom had not even oxen) driving to church.
After about fifteen years the family moved to Lot 11,
Con, 2, where the rest of their lives were spent. As
was true of many of Pickering's pioneers, Mr. Ridley
was very fond of reading and ever regarded the money
as well spent that purchased good books or papers. He
died in 1896 at the age of 87.

Rogers. — Timothy Rogers lived with his wife and
family at Danby, Vermont, where four of his daughters
married sons of Wing Rogers of that place. Later he
removed to Ferrisburgh in the same State, where he
utilized a large waterpower and built a mill. In 1800
he visited Canada and made arrangements with the au-
thorities for forty homesteads of 200 acres each. The
following year he located forty families in the neigh-
borhood of what is now the town of ISTewmarket. A
little later he settled in Pickering, where he received
a large grant of land. He built the first mill in the
township and was the pioneer of a considerable number
of Friends, by whom after a time a Meeting was es-
tablished. Two grandsons of Timothy Rogers, James
and Clarkson, still live in Pickering Village.

Russell. — George Russell and his wife came from
Sotland in their later years, having been preceded by
their family of five sons and one daughter. Mr. Russell
died after a few years, but Mrs. Russell was a resident
of Claremont for many years. She was known for her
simple faith, always believing that the Lord would pro-

19 289

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

vide, and saying with quiet confidence as she approached
the valley of the shadow: 'Tm no feared tae gang
alane." Their family were John, James, William, Rob-
ert, Charles and Elizabeth. John married Elizabeth
Boyer and lived on Lot 15, Con. 7. Their family are
Henry (married Sophia Johnston), David (married
Martha Eussell), George (married Hulda Rumohr) and
Duncan, now of Vancouver. James Russell married
Janet Carruthers, and was well known in Claremont for
many years as a miller. He now lives in Manitoba.
William Russell married Lydia Burton and went to
Dakota. Robert died some years ago. Charles Russell
married Christena Clarke. Elizabeth Russell (Mrs.
James Milne) died some years ago.

Sadlee. — John Sadler and his brothers, Thomas and
William, and sisters Elizabeth (Mrs. John Adamson)
and Mary (Mrs. Harbron), came from the neighborhood
of Stockton-on-Tees, England, in 1833 and settled in
the Fifth and Sixth Concessions, where a number of
their descendants still reside. Thomas Sadler married
Jane Hughes, and three of their family still live in the
township: Mrs. George Jones (Lot 9, Con. 9), Miss
Severina (Claremont) and James Wilfred of Green-
wood. Thomas Sadler lived on Lot 5, Con. 5, which is
still occupied by his son, Wilfred.

Scott. — William Scott was born in Scarboro of Scot-
tish parentage. In 1861 he married Elizabeth Miller
and settled on Lot 12, €on. 8, but later moved to Lot
22, Con. 8, where they still reside. Their family are:
Helen, Agnes (Mrs. P. Macnab, sr., Claremont), Wil-
liam George (deputy reeve this centennial year, Lot 22,

290

" PICKEKING PEOPLE

Con. 8), Janet (Mrs. J. M. Smith, Sandford), Mary
(Mrs. Dick, Camrose, Alta.), Eobert (Lot 23, Con. 8)
and David ( Claremont) .

Scott. — John Scott, of Atha (Lot 31, Con. 7), is a
son of Robert Scott, who came from Cumberland, Eng-
land, in 1868 and lived for a time on Lot 32, Con. 9,
and afterwards on Lot 34, Con. 7. In 1874 Eobert
Scott married Alice Jones, who still lives at Altona.
He died in 1879. Alice Jones is a grandchild of Daniel
Yake, who with his wife and five children left Germany
for America. It was a fourteen weeks' voyage, and his
wife and four children succumbed and were buried at sea.
Alone with one little daughter he reached Pennsylvania.
A year or two later he married Mary Nicely, by whom
he had a family of three boys, John, Gabriel and Michael.
About the close of the eighteenth century they came
overland to Canada, bringing their children, their little
effects and three cattle. On entering Canada they were
'reduced to choosing such plants as they saw the cattle
eating in the forest, making ^'greens" of them and using
them for food. Living for a time in Hamilton and then
tin Whitchurch, they came about the year 1804 to N %
Lot 33, Con. 9, Pickering. Only Michael remained in
Pickering. In 1812, refusing to bear arms against the
United States, he was kept in jail for a time, where he
was given only the scanty ration of one pound of bread
and some water per day. About the year 1816 he mar-
ried Jane Van Zant, by whom he had a family of twelve,
four of whom, Hiram, Susan, Nancy and Polly, still
survive. The three former are in Michigan, and the
latter is Mrs. Polly Jones, of Altona, mother of Alice
Jones (Mrs. Robert Scott), and grandmother of John
Scott. 291

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

Sharrard, — William Sharrard came from England
to Manhattan Island about the year 1760. At the
commencement of the American War of Independence
he was apparently somewhere up North River. He
joined the "Loyal American Regiment," fighting on
the British side. Toward the close of the war he went
with the fleet to the West Indies, but returned and
brought his family to the Eastern Townships, below
Montreal, where they settled for a time, but eventually
came to Sydney Township, Hastings County, Ontario.
Here William Sharrard died in 1823. His family were
William, Jr., Nathaniel, James W., Elizabeth and Unis
(probably Eunice).

William Sharrard, jr., settled on Lot 30, Con. 6, about
1831, and died about 1847. His family were: Thomas,
Diana, Joshua (whose daughter Elizabeth married
Alexander Morgan, of Claremont), John, Sarah, Wil-
liam and Sibian.

Nathaniel Sharrard came to Pickering in March,
1831, and died May 26th, 1860. His family were:
Calvin, Ray, William, Aaron (now, 1911, living in
Oshawa), Mrs. William Cowie (of Lot 26, Con. 7),
James, Caroline, Samuel and Maria.

Elizabeth Sharrard (Mrs. John Lake) remained in
Sydney township till her death at 86 years of age. She
left a family of three sons and four daughters.

Unis married William Sarles and settled on Lot 22,
Con. 6, Pickering. They moved to the Eighth Conces-
sion of Wliitby about 1835 and she died about ten years
later, leaving a family of twelve children.

James Wright Sharrard was born 1783 and first
took up a farm in Markham (Lot 2, Con. 5), afterward

292

MRS. SYLVANUS SHARRARD

PICKERING PEOPLE

moving to another near Stouffville. About tlio year
1812 he came to Pickering, the first of the Sharrard^
to live in the township, and settled on Lot 21, Con. 6.
He was a man of considerable prominence in the muni-
cipal and religious life of the community during th.e first
half of the century, being not only a public-spirited
citizen, but widely known as an effective preacher of
the gospel. He died about 1864. His family were:
Sylvan|us, El(ijah, Calvin, S'arah (Mjrs. Churchill),
Thomas, Ira (lived on seventh concession), Nancy (Mrs.
Willson, afterwards Mrs. Dunham), Polly (Mrs. John
Phillips) and Uoina.

Sylvanus Sharrard married Euth Wixon, (daughter
of Joshua Wixon), who is believed to have been the first
child born of white parents in the community, and
possibly the first in the township. Mr. Sharrard was a
prominent temperance worker and held the position of
Grand Treasurer of the Sons of Temperance from
1856 till 1869. He died in 1874. His wife, long fam-
iliarly known as "Grandma Sharrard," was one of the
original members of the Claremont Baptist Church and
taught in the Sunday School from the early days till
she was well over fourscore. She died February 23rd,
1900, aged 96 years, 1 month and 13 days, having been
born January 10th, 1804. Their family were: Mary
(Mrs. John Barry, still living at North Claremont),
Eachel (Mrs. Robiliard), Phoebe (Mrs. Madill) and
Abigail (Mrs. Joseph Wixon).

Sheppard. — John Sheppard, a cloth manufacturer
from Somersetshire, came with his wife and daughter,
Emily Matilda, to Canada in 1838. They first lived in

293

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

York township, but afterward came to the vicinity
of Brougham. Eor a time he kept store on the Brock
Road, and then settled on the ninth concession. In
1851 the eldest daughter died and was the first to be
buried in the Bethel Cemetery. Mr. and Mrs. Shep-
pard were among the early members of the Bethel
Primitive Methodist Church. He died in 1871, his wife
having died five years earlier.

Their daughter, Mrs. Sinclair John Holden, still
survives.

Skene. — Alexander J. C. Skene was born at Fyvie,
Aberdeenshire, in 1838. He came to Canada at nineteen
years of age, and worked for some time in Claremont
at his trade as a carpenter. Going to the United States
he graduated in medicine in 1863 and served through
the war as a surgeon. He became a consulting physi-
cian at Long Island Medical College, and acquired a
continental reputation as an authority on his specialty
of gynaecology. He published a standard work on
Diseases of Women in 1883. He died July 4th, 1900.

Sleigh. — William Sleigh, a native of England, came
to Canada about the year 1820. He taught school in
the old school on the southwest corner of Lot 24, Con.
5, succeeding William Smith, its first teacher. In 1824
he married Mary Major. He lived on S % Lot 28,
Con. 5. He was township clerk from 1825 till his
death in 1835. He was survived by three sons, John,
Thomas and William, and three daughters, Caroline
(Mrs. Israel Burton), Harriet (Mrs. T. P. Wliite)
and Tabitha (Mrs. William De Mott).

294

PICKEEING PEOP^LE

Smith. — William Smith lived in the 4th Con. (Lot
8). He was a stonemason and plasterer. His family
were: Ruth (Mrs. Betts), William H. (deceased, 1911),
James (married Miss Bentley), Jane (Mrs. A. Boyer),
Eliza (Mrs. Hopper), Frank (Lot 8, 'Con. 4), David
(deceased), Mary (Mrs. Bayles) and Emma (Mrs. John
Brown).

SoMERViLLE. — Samuel Somerville and his wife, Mar-
ion Wilson, emigrated from Lanarkshire in 1832, set-
tling on Lot 11, Con. 5. Their oldest con, Adam, was
born in Scotland. Andrew, the second son, born in
Pickering, died at Brooklin, 1902; Agnes (Mrs. Alex.
Waddell) died in 1906; William died in 1910; James;
Ellen died in 1869; Jane (Mrs. William Gilchrist)
died in 1910; Marion (Mrs. J. Seldon) ; Samuel
John (of Cherrywood) ; Eobert A. (Lot 11, Con. 5).

Sparks. — ^John Sparks early in the century settled
on the lake shore directly south of the site of Pickering
village. In clearing his farm, much of the wood was
shipped by schooner to Muddy York. Salmon, at that
time abundant in Duffin's Creek, were a staple article of
food, and many of them were also marketed in the
future capital. The farm has remained in connection
with the family, being now owned by Thomas Field,
whose wife is a grand-daughter of the pioneer. Coun-
cillor W. W. Sparks is a grandson. Three sons, Thomas,
James and William, were prominent in lake navigation
a generation ago.

Spears. — Adam Spears, a native of Scotland, set-
tled on Lot 29, 'Con. 7, in the forties and established
a sawmill on the stream running through the farm.

295

PAST YEARS IN" PICKERING

Large quantities of lumber were teamed from here to
be shipped at Frenchman's Bay. This mill was con-
tinued in operation by his son James till about twenty-
five years ago. Adam's family were: Alexander ( Ux-
bridge), Robert (Los Angeles), John (Toronto), James
(Lot 29, Con. 7) and Adam (Los Angeles). Mr.
Spears died in 1884 and Mrs. Spears in 1888.

Spink. — J. L. Spink was born in the township of
King in 1845, of Yorkshire and Scottish parentage, and
came to Pickering in 1862, working first in the Forest
mills on the 3rd Concession at 18 hours a day for $5
a month and board. In 1867, with his brother William,
he leased the Whitevale mills from T. P. White. In
1875 they erected the Spink mills at Pickering, which
still continue in successful operation. In later years
Mr. 8pink has resided in Toronto.

SroFFAED. — Mark Spoffard, an Englishman, married
Angelina Lundy, of Newmarket, and settled on the 9th
concession. Mr. Spoffard died in 1888 and his wife
in 1906. Their son Franklin, well known as a music
teacher for many years, died in Claremont, January
12, 1907.

Stevenson. — Thomas Stevenson came from Ferman-
agh, Ireland, in 1830 to the 6tli Concession of Whitby.
In 1866 he purchased the Matthews farm, Lot 18, Con.
6, which is still occupied by his son, Noble. Another
son, Samuel, has lived for many years in the central
part of the township. For some years past he has held
the position of bailiff. He now lives with his daughter
and son-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Miller, of the '^th con-
cession.

296

PICKERING PEOPLE

Stokes. — George Stokes came from England in 1836.
He taught school for four years ; three at Mongolia and
one in Claremont in the old school which stood near
where the hotel now stands. He then married Ann
O'Brien and settled on the eighth concession.

One of their sons, Eichard Stokes, was in business
for some years in Claremont with R. P. Hopper, and
died in 1888. Another son, George Stokes, still lives
in Claremont.

STRATHEAEOsr. — John Stratheam came from Ayrshire
to Canada in 1834, leaving his wife and family at home.
He purchased some land in Pickering and returned.
His wife had died in his absence, and he in 1848
returned to Canada accompanied by his son, David, his
daughter Elizabeth (afterward Mrs. Dow) and his son-
in-law, James McFarlane (whose wife, Agnes Strath-
earn, had died in Scotland) and his family. They settled
on Lot 20 in the Ninth Concession. Mr. Strathearn died
in 1855. His son David was killed by a falling tree
shortly after their coming to Canada.

Taun. — The three Taun brothers, Eichard, George
and Keatley, came from Yorkshire in the early thirties.
Eichard lived a quarter of a mile north of Brougham
and was appointed postmaster of the village in 1836.
George lived in the eighth concession east of Clare-
mont (Lot 13). He died 1874, aged 73. His family-
George, , Eichard, and Elizabeth — still live on the
farm. Keatley Taun lived on the eighth concession.
His two daughters were Mrs. E. Eobinson and Mrs.
John Tarr.

297

PAST YEARS IN PICKEEING

Taylor. — Dugald Taylor and his wife Catherine
came from Scotland and lived first on Lot 18, Con. 7,
then for a time south of Claremont and afterward in
the village. He was well known for many years as a
shoemaker, having as many as five men working for
him at one time. He died in 1874 at the age of 64.
His daughter Jane (Mrs. Jobbitt), still lives in Clare-
mont. His son, Dugald, operated a tannery in Clare-
mont for some time, and now lives in Bracebridge.
Another son, Alexander, died some years ago on Mani-
toulin Island.

Taylor. — John Taylor with his wife and family
came from Norfolk, England, and settled on Lot 33,
Con. 2, in 1836. Mr. Taylor died in 1847 at the age
of 50, Mrs. Taylor in 1883 at the age of 86. Their
son, James Taylor, lived on Lot 29, Con. 2, till
his death in 1910. Another son, William Taylor,
married Hqlen Peat (deceased May 11th, 1908),
and is well known in the south of the township as an
apple buyer and shipper, though well over fourscore
years of age. A third son, Robert, lives at Watford,
Ont., and a daughter, Mrs. Annis, is still living at Port
Union. James Taylor's family are as follows: William J.
(Lot 39, Con. 8), Elizabeth (Mrs. T. M. Henderson,
deceased), Emily (Mrs. L. Johnston, Brougham), Sadie
(Mrs. Charles Annis, Lot 29, B.F.) and Arthur J.
(Lot 29, Con. 2).

Thom. — William Thom came to Canada from Scot-
land in 1830, and lived for a time in "Muddy York,"

298

PICKERING PEOPLE

working at his trade as a joiner. Then he bought Lot
30, B. F., and settled on it. He still worked at his
trade, and tables, spinning wheels, reels, chests and
coffins for the neighborhood were made by him. His
wife was Agnes Mitchell, also a native of Scotland. Of
his family of seven two sons are still living — Archibald,
of Sundridge, and Charles, of Aurora. His son, Wil-
liam, married Helen Thorn and lived on the farm. Of
their family three still live near Dunbarton — William on
the old farm, Alexander on Lot 28, Con. 1, and Miss
Agnes with her mother on Lot 30, B. F.

Thompson. — About the year 1831 Andrew Thomp-
son built a large three-storey tavern on the southwest
corner of Lot 13, Con. 5. Being on the Brock Eoad,
the highway between the north and the south, it enjoyed
a large patronage, and being central in the township
it became the place of assembly for the yearly town
meetings. From 1835 to 1849 practically all the town
meetings convened there, and from 1850 the township
council met there till the erection of the town hall in
Brougham. It was also used for political gatherings
and as a polling place. It is related that W. L. Macken-
zie after his being pardoned once addressed the electors
there. When he was stepping into the sleigh an ardent
Tory remarked "I wish I had been as close to you when
there was a thousand pounds on your head." "That is
more than your head will ever be worth" was the
reply, as he drove away. In later years Mr, Thompson
established a deer park in the south half of the lot on

299

PAST YEARS IN PICKEKING

which the tavern stood. He died in 1853, leaving sev-
eral children. One son, Archibald, was a successful
lumber dealer and died some years ago at Barrie. A
daughter, Susan Ann, widow of the late John Sleigh.
is still living in Toronto in her 87th year. Another
daughter was the wife of John C. Michell, of Clare-
mont.

Thomson. — Thomas Thomson was bom at St. Fer-
gus, Scotland, in 1806, and his wife, Elizabeth Brodie,
in the same parish in 1812. They came out in the
thirties, Mr. Thomson being here before the "37," and
were married in 1839. They settled in Pickering in
1840 on K E. % Lot 14, Con. 8. Their first year
was a hard one. A colt died. Their cow got fast in
the bush and died. The dogs killed all their sheep and
Mrs. Thomson had a long and serious illness. There
was no doctor nearer than \Vhitby. After her recovery
they worked hard, Mrs. Thomson helping to log and
clean up the land, and in later days binding many a
day behind the cradlers. She often carried two "patent"
pails of eggs to Stouffville and carried home her pur-
chases. Mr. Thomson used to tell of having to peddle
eggs at the taverns to get money to pay for taking a
letter from the post office. As the years passed their
industry brought its reward. They were able to add to
their farm and at length to rent the place and retire
to a little stone cottage which they had built for them-
selves, where they kept a horse and a cow and were
able to spend the rest of their lives in comfort. Mrs.
Thomson died in 1874 and Mr. Thomson in 1875.
Their son, John Thomson, still lives in Owen Sound.

300

PICKERING PEOPLE

Tool. — John Tool settled in Pickering about the
year 1819, locating on Lot 18, Con. 1, where the King-
ston Eoad crosses the Brock Road. In 1835 he sold
the part north of the Kingston Road to Jordan Post
and went for a time to Illinois, but returned and lived
on the south part till 1855, when he removed to Michi-
gan. During the rebellion his house was searched and
he removed to Toronto and hid for a time, and it is
said that his wife and oldest son had to go up about
once a week to bring him "something fit to eat." His
son remarks : "He had no more to do with the rebellion
than I had, and I was not born till the following year."
His wife was Katherine Worts, a native of Markham.
She died about 1845. Mr. Tool died in 1879. Their
family were: Mary (Mrs. H. Woodruff), John (born
1819, settled on concession five about 1830. His two
sons, George and John, continued to live on that con-
cession, and his grandson, Silas Tool, still lives there),
Rachel, Jemima, Elizabeth, Katherine, Jane, William,
Aaron, Ann (Mrs. Daniel Decker), Emeline, Clarissa
(Mrs. Holmes, still living at Yale, Michigan) and
Jacob H. (2532 Columbia Street, Vancouver, B.C.).

Tracy. — William Tracy was born in the south of
England in 1791. He and his wife Eleanor were mem-
bers of the Independent Church, assembling in New
Broad Street, London, under the pastoral care of Rev.
Joseph Dobson. They came to Canada in 1832 in the
same vessel which bore the Michell brothers, William
H. and John C. The following is a reproduction of an
advertising card issued before the vessel sailed, the
original being in the hands of Mrs. George Cooper,
Claremont :

301

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING
\V1U-Sail punctually on the 3 1st of March, for

Montreal, Direct,

The fine coppered Ship

E S T H E Ry

358 Tons Register measurement, CCO Tons Burtlicn,
R. A. CLARKSOJ^, Commander.

Lying in the London Dock.

This Ship has nearly 7-feet height between decks, with superior Accommodations
for Passengers, and to ensure early arrival at Montreal, wiM be towed up the River
St. Lawrence by Steamboat, if requisite.

For Freight or Passage apply (o Capt. CLARKSON, on Board ; to

CARTER & BONUS,

11, Leadenhall Street; or to

JAMES WABDEJCLy

. C, Western Entraucc, Londoii Dock,

Abrah<un, rrinler, 1, ClcBicm"* Lane, LonJoB.

The Tracys settled on the rear of Lot 24, Con. 8. Mr.
Tracy died in 1877 at the age of 85, and Mrs. Tracy
in 1879, aged 87. Their family were as tollows :

Ellen, who married William H. Michell, lived on
Lot 23, Con. 8, and died in 1891.

William, who married Sarah Gostick and lived for a
time on Lot 26, Con. 9, but went about thirty years
ago to Minesing.

Thomas E., who married Fanny Leavens and lived
on Lot 26, Con. 9. He died a good many years ago.

Alfred, who married Eliza Gostick, daughter of Rev.
Thomas Gostick, and lived on Lot 26, Con. 9. He was
eleven years old when he came to Canada with his
parents. As a young man he helped to chop out the
Ninth Concession line west of Claremont. While not a

302

PICKEKING PEOPLE

public man, being rather of a retiring disposition, he
was a deacon and Bible class teacher for many years.
He took much interest in education and was school
trustee and secretary of the section for many years.
In later years he lived in Claremont. Mrs. Tracy still
lives with her daughter at Homing's Mills. Their
family were as follows: Arthur (in the States); Har-
riet (Mrs. Pringle of Markham) ; Eliza (Mrs. Thomas
Atkinson of Horning's Mills) ; Alfred (Arrow Park,
B. C), David (Lacombe, Alta.), Caleb (Allegheny,
Pa.), Priscilla (Mrs. C. J. Brodie, Claremont), Frederick
(Professor, Toronto University), Frank (Denver) and
Ealph (Lacombe, Alta.).

Caroline (Mrs. John Pallister), who lived on Lot 22,
Con. 8, and later moved to Cherrywood. She died in
1911. Her daughter, Mrs. Macrae, still lives at Cherry-
wood.

Ebenezer, who lived on Lot 24, Con. 8. His wife
was Jane Carson. He left the township some years
ago, going first to Manitoulin Island, and then to
Barrie.

Hannah (Mrs. Henry Hayward), who lived on Lot
24, Con. 8, but moved to Mount Albert. Her daughter,
Mrs. Ira Powell, lives in Claremont.

Tripp. — John Tripp was born in 1815 near Cobourg,
and about the year 1837 with his father and four
brothers, Thomas, Edward, James and Ira, removed to
Scarboro. Shortly afterwards he settled on Lot 29,
B.F. He built and operated one of the first sawmills
in the neighborhood. In the later sixties he married
Eachel Forrester and came to live in Dunbarton. As
a man of sterling character and integrity of life and a

303

PAST YEAES IN PICKERING

good neighbor he was universally respected. He was
for many years a leader in the life and work of the
Disciples' Church on the Kingston Eoad, and continued
to lead the public services even to extreme old age.
He died in 1906, his wife having pre-deceased him some
seven years.

J. D. A. Tripp, the well-known leader in Canadian
musical activity, is a nephew, being the son of his
brother Ira.

Turner. — William Turner was of TJ. E. L. stock
and was born in 1801 in the parish of St. Patrick, New
Brunswick. In 1828 he married Abigail Hanson and
in 1841 they came to Upper Canada. In 1842 the
family settled permanently on Lot 29, Con. 5. Mr.
Turner had been licensed as a Baptist preacher in 1834,
and when he came to Pickering conducted services for
a time in his own house, then for a time in the school
on the fifth concession and afterward for the Bible
Christians until the organization of the Baptist Church
in Whitevale. His family were: William Burpy, John
Hanson and David Sylvester.

William's family are: John, (Markham), Abigail
(Mrs. Richardson), William J. (Lot 31, Con. 7), Isa-
bella (Mrs. J. Holden), Ezra,, Sarah (Mrs. J. Michell),
Albert E., Mary (Mrs. Coyne), Anthony Orvis, Helen
and David Francis.

John's family are: Naomi (Mrs. Albert "\ATiite), Ada,
Grarfield and Florence.

David's family are : Howard (married Minnie Beaton)
and Alice.

304

PICKEEING PEOPLE

TJnderhill. — Eobert Underhill came from Devon-
shire to Canada about 1855. He lived at first at Bow-
raanville and afterward on the Kingston Road east of
Pickering. Some four years after coming out he mar-
ried Annie Salton and settled on Lot 23, Con. 6, taking
up also Lot 23 in the Seventh. In later years he retired
to Claremont, where he died in 1899. His son, James
Underhill, was a member of council a few years ago and
still lives in Claremont.

James TJnderhill with his wife came out a few years
after his brother. He lived on the Kingston Road.

Richard Underhill, another brother, with his wife
came out later. He worked at his trade as a shoemaker
in Brougham in the seventies. He now lives in Tor-
onto.

Valentine. — ^George Valentine, a native of Belfast,
Ireland, a widower with thee sons and four daughters,
came to Canada in 1832. From York they made their
way through the forest, a tedious journey, to the home
of the Dunlop family, near Greenwood, who had come
a few years earlier from the same locality. Their first
house was built at the foot of the hill still known as
Valentine's Hill. The family were as follows: Jane
(Mrs. Richard Dale), Mary Ann (Mrs. James Weth-
eral), William, Thomas, Elizabeth (Mrs. James Rich-
ardson), Joseph and Sarah (Mrs. John Wright). After
coming to Pickering Mr. Valentine married a Mrs.
Bailey, by whom he had three children, George (who
with his wife was killed while on a trip to Toronto),
Margaret and Lucy (Mrs. Cornell). Mr. Valentine's
third wife was Margaret Creeth, by whom he had two
children, John and Hannah (Mrs. Hannah).

305

PAST YEAES IN PICKERING

Vardon. — David Hailey, Eobert and Thomas Vardon
and their families came from New Brunswick and
settled on Lots 39 and 30 in the fifth and sixth con-
cessions about the year 1842.

Waddell. — William Waddell with his wife, Cather-
ine Thomson, and a family of eight came from the
parish of Whitburn, Scotland, in 1835 and settled on
Lot 11, Con, 9. He was a member of the first session
of the Presbyterian Church organized in the township
and used to walk from the north to Leys's school on
the Kingston Eoad to attend the services. He held the
office of elder for a period of sixty-three years. His
wife died in 1864, aged 78, and he in 1871, aged 89.

His family, excepting two, left the township early.
Alexander, who was born in 1821, lived on the old
homestead till within a few years of his death, when
he removed to 'Stouffville. He was commissioned en-
sign in 1856 and captain in 1857 in the 4th Battalion
of Ontario Militia and saw active service in connection
with the Fenian Raid. His wife was Agnes Somer-
ville, of Greenwood. Their eldest son, William, still
resides in Claremont.

William Waddell, brother of Alexander, spent his life
largely in Pickering. He died in 1898, aged 75.

Ward. — Richard Ward, a native of Yorkshire, with
his wife and four children came to Yonge Street in
1837, where shortly afterward their fifth child, Robert
W., was bom. Three or four years later they moved to
Lot 12, Con. 7. Mr. Ward died in 1881 and Mrs. Ward
in 1895. Their family were as follows: Joseph (of
Reach township), Mary (Mrs. Burgess, Lot 13, Con. 9,

306

PICKERING PEOPILE

deceased, 1910), Ann (Mrs. Appleby), James (of Cali-
fornia), Robert W. (Ciaremont), Richard (of Balsam),
William lived on Lot 4, Con. 8, but recently moved to
Uxbridge), Jane (Mrs. Hortop, Uxbridge) and Sarah
(Mrs. Thomas Pugh).

Richard Ward, jr., married Elizabeth Evans, Their
family are: Judson (Whitby), Sarah (Mrs. W. F. Jones,
Toronto), Walter (Lot 5, Con. 9), Sophia (Mrs. Brown,
Oshawa), Mary (Mrs. F. Cooper, Ciaremont), William
(Oshawa), Florence (Mrs. Jones, Balsam), Evans
(Lot 16, Con. 8). He married as his second wife
Elizabeth Musselman. Their family are: Delia (Mrs.
Birkett), Fred (Lot 9, Con. 7) and Roy (Lot 4, Con.
9).

Webster. — Joseph Webster, a U. E. Loyalist, came
with his wife and family from Pennsylvania in 1820 and
purchased Lot 2, Con. 2, on which he lived till his
death in 1868. His son, Joseph Webster, jr., con-
tinued to occupy the place till his death in 1894, when
it came into possession of his two sons, Herbert and
Daniel, by whom it is still occupied.

White. — Truman P. White was born in Markham
Township in 1825, the son of Ira White, a well-known
farmer and miller. After attending the public school
as a boy he spent a year in an academy at Rochester,
N.Y. About the year 1843 his father bought the S i/^
of Lot 32, Con. 5, and the S i^ of Lot 32, Con. 4,
Pickering, and located Truman thereon. Later pur-
chases of parts of Lots 31 and 32 in these concessions
brought the area owned up to about 400 acres. It was
mostly bush, but on Lot 32, Con. 5, just east of the old

307

PAST YEARS IN PICKERING

White homestead, there was a sawmill which had been
built by John Major in the twenties and was operated
by a Mr. Grey. Mr. White continued the sawmill and
about the year 1850 built a large frame grist mill (just
across the street from the present brick mill). After-
ward he added a cooper shop, planing mills, sash and
door factory, and in 1865 a large brick woollen factory.
Mr. White served over twenty years in the council and
was reeve for sixteen years. He was warden of the
county in 1861. In 1882 he went to Manitoba and
took up land and built a grist mill at Pilot Mound.
During the next ten years he spent most of his time
in the west. Then from 1891 till the death of his wife
in 1898 he lived in Whitevale. Going to the west again
in that year he lived at Pilot Mound till his death in
1900 in his 75th year.

White. — James White with his wife and family came
from London, England, in 1833. For five years they
rented 100 acres. Lot 18, Con. 5, and then bought Lot 28,
Con. 5, where they lived out their lives. Mr. White died
in 1856. Of their eight children four spent their
lives in Pickering, namely, James, William, John and
Emma (Mrs. Major).

James White, born 1819, married Elizabeth Pugh
and lived on Lot 27, Con. 5. He died in 1908. Of
their family of eight two still live in Pickering — ^^Eliza
(Mrs. D. S. Turner, Lot 29, Con. 5) and John A. (Lot
27, Con. 6, reeve of the township during the years
1908, 1909 and 1910).

William White, born 1823, married Mary Pugh and
lived on Lot 28, Con. 5. He died in 1904. Of their

308

PICKEEING PEOPLE

family of five two still live in Pickering, Thomas (Lot
31, Con. 4) and Albert (on the old homestead).

John White, born 1835, married Susan Derusha and
lives on Lot 29, Con. 9. Of his family four still live
in the locality — Henry, Ralpli, Alice and Elizabeth
(Mrs. L. Pugh, Lot 9, Con. 9).

Whiteside. — Daniel Whiteside and his wife, Agnes
Threw (half-sister to William Cochrane), natives of
Ireland, settled on Lot 24, Con. 7, about the year 1842.
Mr. Whiteside died in 1864 and Mrs. Whiteside in
1876. Their family were: Margaret (Mrs. John Miller,
deceased, 1866), James (deceased, 1893; his wife, Mary
McMaster, died in 1874) and Daniel, who went to the
United States.

Whitson". — James Whitson came to Canada with his
mother in 1833, he being then 17 years of age. His
birthplace was Lauder, in Scotland. They first located
at Kingston, but afterward settled on the Kingston
Road between Whitby and Oshawa. He served as a
scout with the Whitby Company in the rebellion of
1837. In 1839 he settled on Lot 26, Con. 7. In 1841
he married Ellen Bell, who had come out from Scotland
in 1834. Their family are: James, living in Markham;
John, living on Lot 28, Con. 8; Margaret, Jane and
Robert at Atha Post Office, and Adam, George and
Elizabeth, deceased.

WiLKiE. — William Wilkie came from Fifeshire in
1832 and settled on Lot 28, Con. 2. He was an active
member and for many years an elder in the Erskine

309

PAST YEAES IN PICKEEING

Presbyterian Church. In 1837 he was one of those
who were marched to York and detained during the
Mackenzie uprising. He died in 1882.

Williams. — David Williams and his wife, Naomi
Thomson, came from Eadnorshire, Wales, in 1842. He
had been a farmer and took up land in the ninth con-
cession. Their family were: David, John, Margaret
(Mrs. John Crompton), Mary (Mrs. Price Pugh), Wil-
liam (who owns 390 acres in Lots 6, 7, 8 and 9 of the
ninth concession) ; Charles and Naomi (Mrs. Grose).
Mrs. Crompton's daughter is Mrs. Arbuckle, of Lot 8,
Con. 8.

WiLLisoN.— J. S. Willison, born in Huron County,
of Yorkshire (originally Scottish) parentage, came to
the township of Pickering when fourteen years of age
to visit his uncle, Eobert Elleker, then living half a
mile east of Greenwood. He spent nearly four years
in the township and was engaged for a considerable time
as assistant teacher in the Public School.

WiLLSON. — Asher Willson, of American parentage,
came from the township of Brock and settled on Lot
21, Con. 5, in the year 1815. He had a family of eight
sons and four daughters. The sons names were: Cas-
per, Oliver, Joseph, William, Elijah, Cornelius, Hiram
and Asher. Casper settled on Lot 21, Con. 4, and mar-
ried Elizabeth Hubbard, by whom he had nine children.
His son Edward Willson lives on the farm. William
married Mary 'Sharrard, daughter of James W. Shar-
rard, by whom he had two children, Henry C. Willson
(editor and proprietor of the Waterville Telegraph,

310

PICKERING PEOPLE

Kansas, U. S.) and Olive Willson, Brooklin, Ont. Cor-
n-elius operated a carding mill for many years in the
seventh concession (Lot 14). His wife still lives in
Brougham.

Wilson. — John Wilson was born in Whitchurch in
1833. His father was Matthew Wilson, a native of
Westmoreland, England, and his mother a daughter of
William Gould, of Uxbridge. With them he came to
Lot 33, Con. 5, in 1845. He married Elizabeth Stev-
enson in 1854, He was a mill-wright by trade and put
the machinery into the first flour mill in Whitevale.
He was trustee of Section No. 11 for 21 years in suc-
cession and road overseer for 20 years. His family
numbered thirteen. Mr. Wilson still lives on Lot 33.
Of their family two still live in Pickering, namely,
Agnes (Mrs. W. A. Fuller) and J. Benson Wilson, of
Green River. Another son, Charles, is editor of the
Times Journal of Fort William, and a fourth, Eli, after
teaching for some years, graduated from Victoria Uni-
versity and continued in the profession, being now prin-
cipal of the High School at Armstrong, B. C.

Wilson. — Thomas Wilson came from County Mona-
ghan, Ireland, in 1830 and in 1839 settled on Lot 1,
Con. 7, where he continued to reside till his death in
1901 at the age of 95. His wife was Mary Stewart,
also of Irish birth. She died in 1909 at the age of
90.

WixoN. — The pioneers of the northern part of Pick-
ering township were the Wixon brothers, Joseph and
Joshua, who came toward the close of the eighteenth

311

PAST YEARS IN PICKEEING

century from Steuben County, N.Y., and settled in the
neighborhood of what is now the Ninth Concession.
They were of English descent, their forefather having
come a century before (1684) to the State of Mas-
sachusetts, and later moved to New York. At the time
of their coming to Canada they were men in the prime
of life, married, and Joshua's oldest son was a boy of
six years.

Joseph Wixon took up land west of what is now the
Brock Road and erected his home just north of where the
road bends to the east between the village of Claremont
and the Canadian Pacific Railway station. Later he
is said to have owned all the land on the west of the
Brock Road from his home to the eighth concession.
A piece of land west of his, now the Macfarlane farm^
was occupied shortly after the coming of the Wixons by
Abraham Townsend, a brother of Mrs. Joseph Wixon.

Joseph's family of nine were named as follows: Ran-
dall, Townsend, Joseph, Elizabeth, Mary, Sarah, Lois
and Clarice.

Joshua Wixon with his wife, Rachel Eggleston, settled
east of the land taken up by his brother. His first
home was southeast of where the Claremont Canadian
Pacific Railway Station stands, near the house pres-
ently occupied by Mr. Wagg.

Their family were : Amos, Asa, Joel, Aser, Ruth (Mrs.
Sylvanus Sharrard), John Joshua, Solomon, Benjamin
and Rachel (afterwards Mrs. Moses Beatty). Their
daughter Ruth is believed to have been the first child
born of white parents in the northern half of the town-
ship.

The history of Joshua Wixon's life is the history

312

PICKEEING PEOPLE

of the Baptist Church in the north of Pickering and
the townships of Uxbridge and Whitchurch. When the
large influx of settlers came in the thirties they found
the Wixons with large clear farms and good orchards.
Joshua Wixon after the first few years lived in the
seventh concession, west of the Brock Eoad. He died
in 1850.

It is not easy to over-estimate the courage which was
necessary to push their way into such a wilderness as
Upper Canada then was. Our forefathers who came in
the thirties of the nineteenth century are regarded by
us as having been men of stout hearts to settle here in
their day, how then shall we measure the spirit of those
who came nearly half a century before them to make their
homes in the primeval forest? Far back from the lake
shore, deep into the untrodden woods they pushed un-
afraid. There was no one to welcome them. There
were no clearances in which to build their future homes.
There were no roads, nor even trails excepting those
made by the Indians and the wild animals. There were
no sawmills where lumber might be obtained for house
building. There were no merchants to furnish them
with food or clothes or any of the thousand other things
which we consider indispensable. There were no phy-
sicians who might be called in in the time of sickness.
There were no ministers to lead the worship of the people
on the Lord's day.

Their first houses were entirely of logs — walls, floor
and roof. Their first furniture was constructed with
the homely tools of the backwoods — the axe, the saw,
the draw-knife and the hammer. The food supply of
the early years must have been largely dependent on the

313

PAST YEAES IN PICKEEING

game and fish of the surrounding forests and streams.
Their clothes, after the original stock had been worn out,
were almost exclusively of home manufacture. The
spinning wheel and the loom were common articles
of furniture in the homes of the pioneers. Their supply
of flour was ground for many a year in the homely
grist-mill which was formed of the end of a hardwood
stump hollowed to form a kind of mortar.

Their dauntless courage, their faith in a guiding and
protecting Providence and the heroic industry which
labored and was patient till the forest wilderness was
transformed into productive farms, may well be taken as
object lessons by later generations.

Woodruff. — A family of this name settled in Pick-
ering very soon after if not before the opening of the
century. In a record of marriages of Clarke township
there is the following entry. "Twenty-first April, 1807.
Married John Carr of Darlington to Betsy Woodruff
of Pickering with the written consent of her father.
Present Morris Carr and wife and Mr. Woodruff^s son."

One of the pathmasters appointed at the town meeting
held in 1811 was Noadiah Woodruff. In all probability
the Betsy above mentioned was his sister. Another
sister, Melinda, was Mrs. Jordan Post and a third Mrs.
Jabez Lynde of Whitby. Noadiah was born in Penn-
sylvania about 1783 and came to Pickering with the
Friends settlement. His home was in the second con-
cession almost directly north of where the Spink mill
now stands. His parents and several brothers were also
pioneers of that time, but the old people and one
brother, Harvey, died very early in the century and the
other brothers left the township within a few year?.

314

PICKEKING PEOPLE

It is said that the soldiers passing between Toronto and
Kingston at the time of the war of 1812 were entertained
at the home of Noadiah Woodruff. In 1813 he pur-
chased 200 acres of Lot 17, Con. 2, for £250. His wife
was Charity Powell and their family: Powell, Hawkins,
Zelotes Harvey, Elizabeth, Nelson, James, Henry, Lois
and Charity.

Powell Woodruff lived in Brougham, where he kept
a tavern. His daughter, Mrs. James Lamareaux, still
lives in Dunbarton.

Hawkins Woodruff married Mary Tool and settled
on Lot 18, Con. 4, but later lived south along the Brock
Eoad in the 2nd Con. His children were Elizabeth, John,
Jemima, Zelot.es Harvey, Jerusha, Nioahdiah, Mary
Maria, Catherine Lois, Hawkins Warren, Emeline (Mrs.
Wm. Allaway) and Emmet Emsley.

Zelotes Harvey Woodruff died when about twenty-
seven years of age, leaving a widow and three children.
His widow afterwards married Stephen Gardiner and
is still living.

Elizabeth Woodruff married William Bentley and
lived and died at Brougham.

Nelson Woodruff lived in Brougham. He was a
member of the firm of Bentley and Woodruff, who
controlled a patent medicine factory for some time.
Three of his children — Washington, Lafayette and
Lottie — live in Assotin, Washington, U. S. A.

James Woodruff lived for a time on the Brock Eoad,
but later moved to liockport, where he died.

Henry Woodruff went to Michigan. Lois died in
early life. Charity Woodruff (Mrs. Kester) lived in
Markham. She died in 1878.

315

PAST YEAES IN PICKEEING

Wright. — Edmond Wright of London, Ont., married
Hannah Dale in 1857 and six years later came to Pick-
ering, where he established a general store at the west
end. In 1875 he purchased and remodelled, the property
long known as Head's Hotel, transforming it into a
store and residence. Here he continued business till
1886, when he sold to Dickie and Marquis. His daughter,
Pheobe J. Wright, lives in Pickering and his son Albert
lives in Imperial Valley, Cal. Two other daughters
are Geraldine (Mrs. John Dickie) and Florence (Mrs.
Miles Chapman). His eldest son, William V. Wright,
graduated from Pickering College and Toronto Uni-
versity and, after marrying Isabella Carroll of Toronto,
went to Japan as a missionary. After three years his
health failed, and two years later he died in Denver,
Col. His family still live in Pickering.

Young, — William Young was born at Laurencekirk,
Scotland, and served his apprenticeship there as a car-
penter. He came to Canada at the age of 25, the
journey occupying seven weeks. From Hamilton he
went to Gait, where, with David Clark another Laurence-
kirk man, he helped in the erection of Dixon's mills.
Coming with Mr. Clark to Pickering, he helped in the
building of his mill in the well-known Clark's Hollow.
In 1844 Mr. Young married Janet Gourlie of the second
concession and settled in TJxbridge, where they lived
till 1887, when they retired to Claremont. He was for
many years an elder in the Presbyterian Church and
was universally respected. Five of his family survive —
Miss Janet Young of Claremont, Hugh of Maxwell,
Eobert of TJxbridge, James of Kirkfield and David, who
is principal of the Public Schools of Guelph. Mrs.
Young died in 1899 and Mr. Young in 1909.

316

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